Suspected spies for the Communist Chinese Party have reportedly entered U.S. military bases in Alaska multiple times, pretending to be lost tourists.
One incident involved a car driven by Chinese citizens that passed security checkpoints and entered a base in Fairbanks. Soldiers found a drone in the car but the Chinese occupants claimed to be lost tourists. Other incidents appeared to be attempts to learn about the U.S. military capabilities in the state, U.S. officials told USA Today.
The news comes days after a Chinese fighter jet flew directly in front of a U.S. airplane, an event the Pentagon called "unnecessarily aggressive." The incident took place on May 26 over the South China Sea, where a Chinese J-16 fighter flew "in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence," a statement from the Indo-Pacific Command said.
Sources briefed on recent high-level meetings between officials from the United States and United Kingdom recently said the countries have "no plan" on countering China's influence.
Most details remain classified about the Alaska base entries, but the supposed tourists, some of whom claimed to be searching for the northern lights, could have ulterior motives, USA Today reported: