On March 6, 2025, the United States Department of Justice, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced a shocking development: the arrest of two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers and one former soldier accused of stealing sensitive government property and engaging in a bribery scheme that allegedly empowered the People’s Republic of China. The suspects—identified as Jian Zhao and Li Tian, both stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, and Ruoyu Duan, a former soldier—face federal indictments in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington. This case, unfolding against a backdrop of heightened U.S.-China tensions, underscores the persistent threat of espionage within America’s own ranks and raises urgent questions about national security, loyalty, and the vulnerabilities of the U.S. military.
The Indictments: A Tale of Greed and Treachery
The indictments paint a disturbing picture of betrayal. Jian Zhao, an active-duty Supply Sergeant, is accused of conspiring since at least July 2024 to obtain and transmit classified national defense information to individuals in China. According to court documents, Zhao allegedly collected and negotiated the sale of several classified hard drives—marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET”—containing sensitive military information. This included details about the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a critical asset in U.S. military operations, and data related to U.S. military readiness in the event of a conflict with China. In exchange, Zhao reportedly received at least $10,000, with total payments amounting to $15,000, violating his sworn duty to protect such information.
Zhao’s actions didn’t stop there. He is further alleged to have conspired to sell an encryption-capable computer stolen from the U.S. government, a device that could potentially unlock access to secure military networks. His co-conspirators, both known and unknown to the grand jury, facilitated this scheme, suggesting a broader network of illicit activity that the FBI and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command are still unraveling.
Meanwhile, Li Tian, a First Lieutenant and health services administrator at the same base, and Ruoyu Duan, a former soldier from Hillsboro, Oregon, face charges in a separate but related conspiracy. Beginning as early as November 2021 and continuing through December 2024, the pair allegedly worked together to gather and transmit sensitive military information, including technical manuals for U.S. Army fighting vehicles like the Bradley and Stryker. Tian, still in active service, is accused of passing this information to Duan in exchange for money, exploiting his position for personal gain. Together, these actions are said to have compromised America’s defense capabilities, with Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi declaring that the defendants “actively worked to weaken America’s defense capabilities and empower our adversaries in China.”
A Swift Response from Law Enforcement
The arrests, executed on March 6, 2025, were the culmination of a meticulous investigation led by the FBI’s Portland and Seattle Field Offices, in close partnership with U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command. Additional support came from agencies like Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, reflecting the gravity and complexity of the case. FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement posted on X, emphasized the severity of the betrayal: “These individuals have been charged with stealing America’s defense intelligence capabilities and empowering adversaries like China in betrayal of our country. They will now face American justice.”
The timing of the arrests—just days into March 2025—suggests that law enforcement moved quickly once the full scope of the conspiracy came into focus. Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox, Commanding General of Army Counterintelligence Command, described the case as evidence of “the persistent and increasing foreign intelligence threat facing our Army and nation,” vowing to hold accountable those who “choose personal gain over duty.” The swift action sends a clear message: the U.S. will not tolerate espionage, especially from within its own military ranks.
Historical Context: A Pattern of Espionage
This case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of Chinese efforts to infiltrate and exploit U.S. institutions, including the military. Over the past decade, the Justice Department has prosecuted numerous cases involving Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens accused of stealing trade secrets, military information, and intellectual property to benefit China. In 2014, five Chinese military hackers were indicted for cyber espionage targeting U.S. corporations. In 2020, a former CIA officer, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, was arrested for passing secrets to China over a decade-long period. More recently, in 2023, two U.S. Navy sailors were charged with transmitting sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence.
The military, with its access to classified technologies and strategic plans, has proven a prime target. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, another former Army soldier arrested in 2023, allegedly attempted to deliver national defense information to China after leaving Joint Base Lewis-McChord—the same base implicated in the current case. Korbein Schultz, an Army intelligence analyst arrested in 2024, was paid $42,000 to provide details about U.S. contingency plans for a Taiwan conflict. These incidents highlight a troubling vulnerability: individuals entrusted with America’s secrets can be swayed by financial incentives or ideological shifts, often with devastating consequences.
China’s strategy, often executed through state-sponsored actors or proxies, leverages both coercion and opportunity. The Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese initiative to recruit experts with access to sensitive information, has been implicated in several cases, though no direct link has been confirmed here. The allure of cash—whether $10,000 for Zhao or $42,000 for Schultz—demonstrates how relatively modest sums can compromise national security, especially when paired with the promise of impunity beyond U.S. borders.
The Stakes: Why This Matters
The information allegedly stolen by Zhao, Tian, and Duan is not abstract or trivial. HIMARS, for instance, is a precision-guided rocket system that has proven decisive in conflicts like Ukraine, offering mobility and firepower that could tip the balance in a Pacific theater showdown. Technical manuals for Bradley and Stryker vehicles detail operational capabilities and vulnerabilities—data that, in Chinese hands, could inform countermeasures or reverse-engineering efforts. Readiness plans for a potential conflict with China are the crown jewels of U.S. military strategy, outlining how America would respond to aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Handing these over to Beijing is akin to giving an adversary the playbook before the game begins.
The broader implications are chilling. As U.S.-China relations deteriorate—marked by trade disputes, military posturing in the South China Sea, and competition over technology—the theft of such information could erode America’s strategic edge. FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington called it “unconscionable” that soldiers would betray their country, noting that “protecting the nation’s secrets, especially those necessary to preserve our military advantage and protect our troops, is one of the FBI’s top priorities.” A single breach could cost lives, disrupt alliances, or embolden China to act more aggressively, knowing it holds an intelligence advantage.
The Human Element: Motives and Morals
What drives a soldier to turn against their oath? The indictments suggest greed as a primary motivator—Zhao’s $15,000 and Tian’s payments from Duan point to a transactional betrayal. Yet the psychology may run deeper. Zhao’s negotiations with Chinese contacts, conducted over encrypted channels, hint at a calculated effort to maximize profit, possibly underestimating the reach of U.S. law enforcement. Tian, a health services administrator, may have seen an opportunity to exploit his access to sensitive data, perhaps rationalizing it as a victimless crime. Duan, no longer bound by active-duty constraints, could have been the linchpin, leveraging past connections to orchestrate the scheme.
Historical cases offer clues. Joseph Schmidt, after leaving the Army, expressed disillusionment with the U.S. government, emailing Chinese officials that he no longer felt safe in America. While no such statements are attributed to Zhao, Tian, or Duan, their actions suggest a detachment from the values they once swore to uphold. The Army’s culture of honor and duty, drilled into every recruit, evidently failed to take root—or was overridden by personal gain.
The Road Ahead: Justice and Prevention
The legal process now begins. Zhao faces charges of conspiracy to gather national defense information, bribery, and theft of government property, while Tian and Duan are charged with conspiracy, bribery, and theft. Each count carries significant penalties—up to 10 years for theft and bribery, and potentially life for espionage-related offenses if additional charges emerge. Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Oregon and Washington, alongside the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, will prosecute the case, with the defendants presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Beyond the courtroom, this case demands a reckoning. How did classified materials leave a secure base undetected? What oversight failed to allow a supply sergeant and a health administrator to access and transmit such sensitive data? The Army and FBI have pledged to tighten security, but the recurring nature of these incidents suggests systemic challenges—insider threats, inadequate vetting, or insufficient monitoring of personnel with clearance.
Public reaction, as reflected in X posts, ranges from outrage to alarm. Users like @BennyJohnsonTV and @EYakoby echoed Patel’s condemnation, framing the arrests as a wake-up call about China’s reach. The sentiment underscores a broader anxiety: in an era of great power competition, can America trust those it arms to defend it?
Conclusion: A Breach of Trust, A Call to Vigilance
The arrests of Jian Zhao, Li Tian, and Ruoyu Duan are more than a legal headline—they are a stark reminder of the fragility of trust within the institutions that safeguard the nation. As Attorney General Bondi promised “swift, severe, and comprehensive justice,” the U.S. confronts not just the actions of three individuals but the specter of a rival power exploiting its weaknesses. This betrayal in uniform, if proven, will leave a scar on the Army’s honor and a challenge for a country striving to protect its secrets in an increasingly perilous world. The investigation continues, but one thing is clear: the cost of disloyalty is measured not just in dollars, but in the security of a nation.
