US Navy Sailors Arrested, Accused of Heinous Treachery After China Issues Espionage Order to Its Citizens
In the raging days of World War II, leadership in Nazi Germany first put into words an all-hands approach to conflict they dubbed totaler Krieg – or “total war” if you prefer English – that called for every man, woman and child in the Reich to participate wholeheartedly in the war effort. The nation pitched itself fully toward mobilization as all industries focused entirely on the war effort, or otherwise sustaining the population so they could continue doing so.
Everyone knows how this ended: German forces were pushed back into their own country as the Allies and Soviet Union carried out massive bombing campaigns that completely gutted civilian, military and industrial centers. As the Soviet’s red banner was raised in Berlin, Germany was taught that total war works both ways. The country was then split in two with both sides made to play opposing pawns in the new Cold War. Germany would not be united until a generation later.
Now, it appears another ethnostate is taking up the mantle Germany left in the 1940s and calling its citizens to take direct action against adversaries.
The country is, of course, China.
The nation boasts a population of 1.4 billion people with more than 90 percent of them having Han ethnicity. According to the Brookings Institution, top leadership positions in China are dominated by the Han.
While China does seem to promote participation of ethnic minorities in the country, peoples like the Uyghurs often see their unique cultures become the target of Beijing’s Han-led purges.
The Chinese citizenry have so far taken a passive backseat to the country’s larger aims, but now it seems the ruling communist regime is inching its population closer to total war.
According to the South China Morning Post, Beijing is calling all Chinese citizens to take bold action under the country’s new anti-espionage laws. Hailing it as a measure to protect national security, on August 1, China’s Ministry of State Security called on the “broad participation” of Chinese to accomplish the regime’s aims of countering foreign influence, chiefly that from the United States.
Although the new law pertains mainly to espionage in China, it’s clear the regime already has shadowy tendrils in America’s most sensitive areas.
On Thursday, just days after China called on citizens to act against foreign powers, it was revealed that two U.S. Navy sailors were arrested for allegedly slipping critical military secrets to intelligence officers working for Beijing.
The Department of Justice announced the unsealed indictments against Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, and Wenhang Zhao, who went by Thomas Zhao, in a Thursday media release.
According to the DOJ, Wei, who served the Navy as a machinist on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex, began his espionage in February 2022. He allegedly started communicating with a Chinese intelligence officer that month, passing over sensitive information about systems of the warship he was aboard and others. Naval Base San Diego, where the Essex is based, is the homeport of the Pacific Fleet.
The DOJ alleged Wei was paid thousands for sending his handler photographs, videos and technical documents concerning U.S. warships. Hauntingly, Wei is also accused of reporting the strength and training of U.S. Marines who were in the area.
The case surrounding Zhao is even more disturbing.
Zhao, a petty officer at Naval Base Ventura County who held a security clearance, is alleged to have begun his espionage campaign in August 2021.
Zhao’s Chinese handler apparently claimed to be a maritime economic researcher looking to safeguard any future investments in the area. The DOJ claims Zhao soon began feeding Beijing critically sensitive info though this handler, sending information on a radar system installed at the U.S. military base at Okinawa, Japan.
For stabbing the back of every Americans he swore an oath to protect, Zhao was allegedly paid $14,866.
“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said. “Unlike the vast majority of U.S. Navy personnel who serve the nation with honor, distinction and courage, Mr. Zhao chose to corruptly sell out his colleagues and his country.”
China’s goals appear to be crystal clear. As recently as last year, the country has been urging citizens to prepare for war amid increasing militarization.
While Beijing seems intent on fully involving citizens in the next big conflict, the country would do well to remember the merciless lesson seen in the waning days of the Third Reich. If China’s leaders wants total war, America stands ready to let them have it.
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