A federal court in San Francisco has charged two Chinese nationals with espionage, accusing them of working on behalf of the Chinese government to gather intelligence on U.S. military capabilities, prosecutors said.
Yuance Chen, 38, and Liren "Ryan" Lai, 39, were arrested on allegations of acting as unregistered foreign agents in violation of a federal law that requires individuals working on behalf of foreign governments to register with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court records show that Chen arrived in the United States on a visa in 2015 and later became a lawful permanent resident. Lai, according to prosecutors, lives in China but traveled to Texas earlier this year to oversee espionage operations for China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).
In addition to espionage, Chen and Lai face several other charges, including coordinating a cash dead drop and attempting to recruit U.S. military personnel to work for Chinese intelligence, NBC San Diego reported.
An FBI affidavit filed in connection with the case alleges that Lai began training Chen to serve as a Chinese intelligence asset as early as 2021. The two are accused of conducting surveillance on U.S. Navy installations in California and Washington state, where they allegedly took photos and videos that were later sent to the MSS.
Prosecutors said Chen also obtained a list of names, photographs and personal details of recent Navy recruits during a base tour. Many of those listed had China as their place of birth, leading investigators to believe the information was passed to Chinese intelligence officials.
The affidavit also details how the defendants allegedly coordinated a $10,000 cash dead drop for another MSS operative.
Although the case was filed in San Francisco, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said search warrants were also executed in San Diego, Houston and Portland, although he did not provide further details on those operations.
In a social media post, Bongino said the FBI has arrested 51 foreign intelligence agents so far this year for espionage and technology theft. He added that the agency currently has 5,000 open counterintelligence cases, with 800 initiated in 2025 alone.
"We're moving quickly to arrest or disrupt enemy agents because we know this heightened global threat environment requires us to be hyper-vigilant in protecting our homeland," Bongino wrote.
As promised, I want to provide an update on our efforts to defend the homeland and protect the American people from foreign intelligence agents. This is your @FBI, and you deserve to know about the work we’re doing every day to keep our country and citizens safe.
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) July 1, 2025
-Today we…
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the case part of an "aggressive effort" by China to infiltrate U.S. military operations and undermine national security.
"The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country," Bondi said in a statement. "We will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security."
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
