Spy Games: Chinese operatives arrested in California and Guam as espionage concerns rise

People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operatives and spies continue to be arrested in the U.S. The latest include two Chinese spies in California and several arrested in Guam near a U.S. military installation on the same day as an historic live ballistic missile interception test.

In California, a 64-year-old man was arrested on several charges including allegedly acting as a PRC agent while working as a campaign manager for a southern California city council candidate elected in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The operative “allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could ‘influence’ local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan” and was allegedly involved in operations “to combat ‘anti-China forces’ in the U.S., among other conspiracies.

He was also charged with conspiring with another PRC operative who was sentenced to prison last month for acting as anunregistered PRC agent and bribing an IRS agent. In that case, two PRC citizens living in Los Angeles were targeting members of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Center, a multi-agency investigation found.

In Guam, U.S. Customs officers arrested PRC citizens who illegally entered near a U.S. military installation, according to the Guam Customs & Quarantine Agency.

As part of their investigation, officers learned the PRC operatives were dropped off the coast of Guam by a vessel originating from Saipan, in the U.S. territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

On Dec. 10, they apprehended and detained two PRC women. On Dec. 11, they apprehended four PRC men who were all transported by the same vessel originating from Saipan, authorities said.

One PRC male was apprehended in the Tanguisson Beach area; three PRC men were apprehended in the vicinity of a U.S. military installation.

They were apprehended as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, working with U.S. Department of Defense partners, “successfully conducted a live intercept of a ballistic missile target, marking the first Ballistic Missile Defense event executed from Guam,” the MDA announced. The operation was conducted off the coast of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said the successful operation enabled them to “build upon and validate joint tracking architecture and integrated air and missile defense capabilities for Guam.”

The flight test was “a critical milestone in the defense of Guam and the region,” Commander, Joint Task Force-Micronesia Rear Adm. Greg Huffman said. “It confirmed our ability to detect, track, and engage a target missile in flight, increasing our readiness to defend against evolving adversary threats.”

“Within the context of homeland defense, a top priority for the Department of Defense, Guam is also a strategic location for sustaining and maintaining United States military presence, deterring adversaries, responding to crises, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” MDA said.

Recognizing the threat posed by the PRC, the Guam Customs & Quarantine Agency has apprehended 152 PRC individuals “who were determined to be in violation of Guam entry laws” since 2022.

It’s also involved in a multiagency border security task force targeting illegal entries, which includes the Guam Police Department, Guam Fire Department, Guam Attorney General, Guam Port Authority, Guam Department of Labor, Guam Homeland Security, Guam Department of Agriculture Conservation Division, Marianas Fusion Center, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Customs and Department of Public Safety, US Coast Guard, US Navy, US Customs and Border Protection, US Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, and Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The task force is asking its community to contact them with any information related to illegal entry and to remain “vigilant and keep watch for individuals suspected to have made illegal entry to the island or who may be involved in smuggling activities.”

Border security and immigration law violations in the CNMI have long been a concern expressed by members of Congress, including the explosion of illegal birth tourism on the islands, The Center Square reported.

The recent PRC operatives arrests come as the greatest number of Chinese nationals illegally entered the country in U.S. history under the Biden administration, more than 176,000, The Center Square first reported.