Two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers and one former soldier were arrested on Thursday on charges of stealing and selling classified military information on rocket systems and combat vehicles to Chinese agents, according to the Department of Justice.
The active-duty soldiers, identified as Sgt. Jian Zhao and 1st Lt. Li Tian, were stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. The former soldier, Ruoyu Duan, had served the military from 2013 to 2017.
According to federal indictments, from late 2021 to the end of 2024, Duan and Tian, a health services administrator at the base, conspired to sell classified information, including technical materials, according to prosecutors. They allege that Tian sent the documents to Duan, who then passed them overseas and paid Tian a fee in return.
“Specifically, Tian was tasked with gathering information related to U.S. military weapon systems, including information related to the Bradley and Stryker U.S. Army fighting vehicles,” the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Court documents show that Zhao used encrypted messaging apps to negotiate prices with buyers in China. In one conversation, he allegedly stated that any information on the rocket launcher HIMARS would command a price of at least “$3,000 to $4,000.”
Tian and Duan were charged in an Oregon federal court with conspiracy to commit bribery and theft of government property, while Zhao faces additional charges of obtaining and transmitting national defense information to an unauthorized individual and for bribery and theft of government property.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that bribery and corruption will not be tolerated within the military.
“The FBI and our partners will continue to work to uncover attempts by those in China to steal sensitive U.S. military information and hold accountable all those who play a role in betraying our national defense,” Patel said.
Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, commanding general of the Army Counterintelligence Command, warned of the increasing foreign intelligence threats facing the military and urged soldiers to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities.
The recent arrests mark the latest in a series of espionage cases involving U.S. military personnel accused of sharing classified information with foreign adversaries. In 2023, a former Army sergeant was indicted for attempting to deliver national defense information to China, and two U.S. Navy sailors were charged with espionage in a separate case.
