DOJ Arrests Two Chinese Nationals For Spying, Trying To Recruit U.S. Military Members To Work For PRC

Two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in April 2025, have been charged with acting as agents for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

According to a Monday report, the Department of Justice alleges the men gathered intelligence on U.S. Navy personnel and military bases and attempted to recruit other military members to spy for the MSS, according to The Conservative Brief. 

They also allegedly facilitated a “dead drop” cash payment on behalf of the MSS.

The Conservative Brief article writes that the FBI arrested Chen in Happy Valley and Lai in Houston on Friday, with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

“Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. He added, “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.”

“The FBI arrested two Chinese nationals who were allegedly attempting to recruit U.S. military service members on behalf of the PRC,” he said.

A DOJ press release read: “The defendants…were arrested Friday on a criminal complaint charging them with overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence taskings in the United States on behalf of the PRC Government’s principal foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).”

“These activities included facilitating a “dead drop” payment of cash for information relating to the national security of the United States previously provided to the MSS, gathering intelligence about U.S. Navy service members and bases, and assisting with efforts to recruit other individuals from within the U.S. military as potential MSS assets.”

Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California added: “These charges reflect the breadth of the efforts by our foreign adversaries to target the United States — this time by conducting illegal intelligence-gathering operations aimed at our national security information and military service members.”

“My office and the FBI remain ever vigilant in guarding against these threats to the United States. We will continue to undertake counterespionage investigations and prosecutions, no matter how complex and sensitive, to disrupt attempts to weaken our national security.”

Attorney General Pamela Bondi concluded: “This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within. The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”