Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel on late Tuesday said that the FBI arrested two Chinese nationals for spying on their Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP's intel service.

Patel warned that espionage on US will be met with full force.

In a post on X, he said, 'Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP's intel service. Our FBI won't stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we're not done yet. Espionage on U.S. soil will be met with full force.'

https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1940092945547366887

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Chinese national Yuance Chen, who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who travelled to Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested on Friday. Both individuals face charges of overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence tasks in the US on behalf of the Ministry of State Security, Fox News reported.

Along with assisting with the recruitment of potential MSS assets and gathering intel about service members and bases, the two men are accused of facilitating a 'dead drop' payment of cash on behalf of the MSS.

'Today's arrests reflect the FBI's unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military,' Patel told Fox News.

'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. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless,' Patel added.

The FBI arrested both men on Friday. Chen was arrested in Happy Valley while Lai was arrested in Houston, with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

Citing a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of California, the Department of Justice said the government of the PRC conducts intelligence activities against the US using various means, including the MSS, which is involved with collecting intelligence on civilians. The MSS is also responsible for foreign intelligence, counterintelligence and political security, Fox News reported. (ANI)