Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and are accused of overseeing and carrying out “various clandestine intelligence tasks” that targeted U.S. military assets on “behalf of the Ministry of State Security,” the Chinese intelligence agency.
The two are identified by the Department of Justice as Yuance Chen, of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Laim, who arrived in Houston on a tourist vias in April, according to a report from Fox News.
They are accused of acting as agents of the People’s Republic of China “to collect intelligence about U.S. Navy service members and bases.”
The also allegedly were recruiting other military members to carry out tasks for China’s Ministry of State Security.
“Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military,” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. “The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless.”
Included in the allegations is that the two worked to facilitate a “dead drop” payment of $10,000 cash on behalf of the MSS.
Two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen and Liren Lai, have been arrested for allegedly acting as agents of China’s Ministry of State Security to spy on U.S. Navy personnel and bases, recruit assets, and facilitate cash payments. Both face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. (FOX)
— NTC Report (@NTC_Report) July 1, 2025
Two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen and Liren Lai, were arrested on Friday for allegedly spying on U.S. Navy personnel and bases. https://t.co/mdRE0qZz8K
— NewsRadio WHAM 1180 (@WHAM1180) July 1, 2025
The government charges that the PRC runs intelligence operations against the U.S. in several ways, including collecting intelligence on civilians, the job of the MSS.
The payment involved leaving a backpack with cash at a day-use locker in Livermore, California.
Allegedly, the two then helped identify Navy personnel “who might be willing to work on behalf of the MSS.”
They visited a Navy base in Washington state as well as a Navy recruitment center, where Chen “allegedly took photos of a bulletin board that contained the names, programs and hometowns of Navy recruits.”
“Chen ultimately began to communicate with a member of the Navy on social media, the DOJ alleges, and arranged for a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego with the employee. Chen also sent information about the employee to the MSS, the government has charged.”
He was documented then meeting with MSS intel operatives in Guangzhou.
Lai claimed to be in the U.S. for his business as an online retailer, but overstayed his planned visit and was seen traveling to California and back to Junction, Texas.
They are accused of operating in the U.S as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. attorney general.
