The Chinese student arrested in connection with the video of the US aircraft carrier was a Communist Party member
US: According to local media, a Chinese student who was detained in South Korea for unlawfully filming a US aircraft ship with a drone is an exemplary member of the Communist Party.
The event occurred on June 25 when the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt moored at the Naval Operations Command of South Korea in Busan, a port city on the country’s southeast coast that is often visited by U.S. aircraft carriers.
Washington has a treaty ally in Seoul, and the U.S. military is committed to supporting extended deterrence in South Korea with its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons. The United States has 28,500 soldiers on the Korean Peninsula to protect the ally and prevent attack.
One of the three Chinese students being investigated for photographing the U.S. aircraft carrier was named an “excellent Communist Party member” at a Chinese university in May 2021, according to a story published Monday by the South Korean daily Korea JoongAng Daily. Since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been the only political party in power. Since 2012, the party and its military wing have been led by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Additionally, the article said that the potential that China dispatched Communist Party members to spy in South Korea is not being ruled out by the investigation authorities.
The Chinese students said they recorded the American aircraft carrier “out of curiosity.” They were apprehended during a South Korean military and police operation. Whether the other two students are also CCP members was not immediately apparent.
The article states that South Korean officials believe the suspects were gathering data about South Korean bases and equipment, as well as U.S. aircraft carriers, over a long period of time and transmitting their findings to China.
The South Korean police came to the conclusion that the suspects were operating under the supervision of a Chinese intelligence agency in an organized fashion. According to forensic findings, their mobile phones included CCP bulletins and contacts for Chinese public security personnel.
Investigators in South Korea found that the suspects had taken “hundreds of photos” of military installations in both the United States and South Korea. In September 2022, they carried out “a preliminary survey” of the Korea Fleet Command in Busan, according to the investigation authorities.
In addition to the Theodore Roosevelt, during their visit to Busan last year, the Chinese suspects videotaped at least two additional U.S. Navy ships: the USS Nimitz, a sister ship of the Theodore Roosevelt, and the USS Springfield, a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine.
According to the newspaper, if the June 25 incident was orchestrated under the guidance of a Chinese intelligence agency, the suspects, who are accused of breaking South Korea’s Military Base and Facility Protection Act, might face treason charges.
A South Korean military official said, “We are keeping a close eye on people involved in intelligence activities from countries such as China,” in reference to the Chinese suspects’ case. If convicted of treason, they might spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
