Seven Chinese nationals tried to illegally enter Guam as US examined missile, authorities say | EUROtoday

Seven Chinese residents have been arrested for allegedly trying to illegally enter Guam, a US territory, whereas the navy was conducting a key missile defence check, authorities stated.

The incident, which occurred on 10-11 December, has raised issues about potential espionage as 4 of these detained had been discovered “in the vicinity of a military installation,” Guam’s Customs and Quarantine Agency stated.

The arrests got here because the US Missile Defense Agency performed an interception check involving superior radar methods at Andersen Air Force Base on 10 December.

“Conducting espionage against US military facilities, especially those with missile launch capabilities, could provide the PRC with potentially valuable intelligence,” US suppose tank Institute for the Study of War stated in a report on Friday, utilizing the formal title of the People’s Republic of China.

The arrested people reportedly arrived on the island by boat from Saipan.

Guamanian authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, however there was no quick response from China’s overseas ministry to the arrests or the allegations.

The US is ramping up its missile defence presence in Guam, aiming to create a community spanning 16 websites on the island. The $10 billion plan is designed to discourage missile assaults by complicating potential offensives towards the strategically important US territory within the Indo-Pacific area.

The integration of superior radar and defence methods varieties an important a part of the trouble to counter rising threats, together with these from China.

The missile interception check on 10 December was deemed profitable, with the Missile Defene Agency confirming a plan to hold out two such exams yearly.

A sequence of current arrests have heightened issues about Chinese espionage actions concentrating on US navy installations. Earlier this month, a Chinese citizen was arrested for allegedly flying a drone and taking pictures of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The arrest was a part of a sequence of comparable incidents involving unauthorised drone exercise close to delicate navy websites.