U.S. officials announced on Thursday that two U.S. Navy sailors had been detained on suspicion of crimes relating to national security and connected to China.
According to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity and were not authorised to speak publicly about the case, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to a ship in San Diego was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiring to send Chinese officials information about the nation’s defence.
According to U.S. officials, another seaman was detained at Naval Base Ventura County, which is located north of Los Angeles, and was charged with conspiracy and accepting a bribe from a Chinese official. Whether the two incidents were connected is unknown.
When The Associated Press contacted the U.S. Justice Department, they chose not to comment. More information was anticipated to be revealed by federal officials at a press conference set for later on Thursday in San Diego.
