China’s embassy in Washington denies the allegations, saying it does not know the details of Zhao’s case.
US naval officer Wenheng Zhao pleaded guilty to passing confidential information and plans to Chinese intelligence and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Zhao was a petty officer serving at the Ventura County Naval Base in California.
According bbctransmitted military information on operational instructions, electrical diagrams and plans of the radar system installed at the US military base in Okinawa, Japan, from 2021 to 2023.
In exchange, he accepted bribes worth almost $14,886 between August 2021 and May 2023, according to US government sources.
The US Navy base on Okinawa is critical to its operations in Asia. The United States has made what it calls the “Indo-Pacific” region a key security priority, and in recent years has worked to shore up alliances there to counter China’s extensive military power.
Zhao is a naturalized American citizen who was born in China. He immigrated to the United States in 2009, obtained citizenship in 2012 and enlisted in the Navy five years later.
He was arrested last August in California and pleaded guilty to espionage charges in October.
China’s embassy in Washington on Monday denied the allegations and said it was not aware of the details of Zhao’s case. In addition, he accused the US government and media of exaggerating espionage cases, many of which he said were based on unproven accusations.
