Army soldiers have been selling our military secrets to China. Not only that, the Pooh Bear got the deal of the century. He bought priceless intelligence for peanuts while the brass was distracted by diversity. Two of three arrested were on active duty at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Soldiers turned spy
Three Army soldiers were arrested on Thursday, March 6. Two of them are active-duty. Jian Zhao and Li Tian were both stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which is located in Washington state.
Former soldier Ruoyu Duan of Hillsboro, Oregon, “served in the Army from 2013 to 2017.” The DOJ released two separate indictments. One focused on Jian Zhao while the other involved Tian and Duan.
It seems from what Attorney General Pam Bondi and her lawyers have to say that Jian Zhao deserved the special attention. He was a battery supply sergeant assigned to the 17th Field Artillery Brigade.
Everyone has their price, they say. His was low and easy terms could be arranged. The other two soldiers apparently had been involved earlier, while Zhao turned spy more recently.
Tian and Duan were indicted separately with “conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property.”
The paperwork for Zhao lists the same charge with another one for obtaining and transmitting “national defense information” to an “unnamed individual not authorized to receive it.” All three soldiers face serious prison terms.
High value low price
The federal indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, relates that Zhao “managed over $55 million worth of army property.” He got his sticky fingers on “nearly two dozen classified hard drives.” Each was clearly marked “Secret” or “Top Secret.”
Along with those, he sold “sensitive U.S. military documents and information pertaining to High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to buyers in China.” It’s not clear if the other soldiers were selling to the same buyer or a different one.
As an extra added bonus, sergeant Zhao “also allegedly obtained and sold information related to the U.S.’s military readiness in the event of a conflict with China.” You can bet Xi Jinping would be willing to pay millions for that kind of intelligence.
Apparently, either Zhao didn’t understand the value of what he had or money wasn’t his primary motivating factor. “Zhao received payments totaling at least $15,000 from August 2024 onwards.” The DOJ doesn’t mention what the other soldiers were paid.
The separate indictment filed in Oregon for Duan and Tian says that they “conspired together to steal and transmit sensitive military information on the U.S. Army’s operational capabilities, including technical manuals.” The soldiers allegedly did that “between November 2021 and at least December 19, 2024.”
Duan, the former soldier, was apparently the middleman. Tian sent Duan “links to Google Drive accounts containing sensitive information on U.S. military weapons systems, such as Bradley and Stryker U.S. Army fighting vehicles.” AG Bondi promises all three soldiers turned spy “will face swift, severe, and comprehensive justice.“
