Chinese-origin US Navy officer jailed for selling military secrets to China

Wenheng Zhao pleads guilty to transmitting secret files to Chinese spy

MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in flight after taking off from US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, as a person looks on towards the military base from Kakazutakadai Park in the city of Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture (AFP via Getty Images)

A US Navy officer has been sentenced to two years in jail for providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer, the US Justice Department said.

Wenheng Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, California, received at least $14,866 in bribe in exchange for secret military information from the Chinese intelligence officer during his service at the Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme.

He pleaded guilty on October 2023 for one count of “conspiring with the intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe”.

Zhao was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Monday and fined $5,500.

Zhao passed sensitive information, including plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Indo-Pacific theatre, operational orders and electrical diagrams and blueprints for ground and air radar systems in Okinawa, Japan among several other documents.

“Mr Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the US military,” said assistant attorney general Matthew G Olsen.

He added that the Justice Department “is committed to combating the Chinese government’s efforts to undermine our nation’s security and holding accountable those who violate our laws as part of those efforts”.

US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma seen from Kakazutakadai Park in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture (AFP via Getty Images)

He received the payments in 14 transactions between August 2021 and at least May 2023.

He entered restricted military and naval installations “to collect and record" information”, the justice department said, adding that he used "sophisticated encrypted communication methods" to transmit the information.

He used to destroy evidence of his communication and concealed his relationship with a Chinese spy.

Zhao is a US citizen who was born in China after immigrating to the US in 2009. He enlisted in the navy five years after he became a citizen in 2012.

Another US Navy member, Jinchao Wei, 22, was arrested around the same time as Zhao in late August and charged with spying for the Chinese agents. Mr Wei, who served on the assault ship the USS Essex, is accused of handing dozens of documents, photos and videos detailing operations of US ships to Chinese intelligence.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was not aware of the details of Zhao’s cases and accused the US government of hyping up espionage cases.