Questions arise about China’s spying on US military bases

(NewsNation) – The Biden administration issued an order this week barring a Chinese cryptocurrency mining company from owning land near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming, citing national security risks.

MineOne Partners, backed by Chinese nationals, operates within a mile of F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne. the Management called Proximity is a “danger to national security.”

the The Treasury Department said “Specialized, foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities” partly inspired the order, but did not provide details about the risks.

MineOne purchased the land in 2022 but failed to report the purchase under proper protocols. Ultimately, public advice alerted authorities to potentially questionable motives for choosing the site.

US officials are sounding the alarm about an increase in the number of foreigners being caught checking in on US military bases.

Chinese nationals attempted to enter US military sites more than 100 times last year, often posing as tourists or DoorDash food delivery drivers. According to the Daily Mail.

Retired Air Force Brig. The Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance tactic is not new and “certainly not the only way they are actively monitoring the United States,” Gen. John Teichert told NewsNation.

“Just seeing the lifestyle and gathering open source intelligence provides them with a lot of opportunities to understand our security practices,” Teichert said. “When you bring a lot of these data points together, you come up with a comprehensive idea of ​​our capabilities or readiness and our vulnerabilities.”

In a statement to NewsNation, DoorDash said: “These reports are deeply concerning, and we take any allegations of abuse of our platform very seriously.”

The order gives MineOne 90 days to remove structures and equipment and 120 days to sell the property. However, Teichert warned that it may be too late if bad actors have already gathered information.

“It’s Chinese Communist clubs on college campuses or Chinese police stations in American cities or the $700 billion in intellectual property stolen annually by the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “Unfortunately, they have been implementing this strategy for the past two and a half decades, and to some extent, we are not as vigilant and diligent as we should be to stop them.”

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice and TikTok asked the federal appeals court To fast-track the ruling on a new law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets by January 19 or face a ban.