Chinese Embassy Officials Expelled For Breach In US Military Site

Chinese officials get expelled the first in 30 years for loitering into US military restricted site 

Sparks of the US China trade war are flying all over the two countries relations 

While on one side China is trying to compromise and come to terms with someone else being more powerful right now, its arch trade opponent the United States has done away with two of its officials, on charges of espionage.

Both were Chinese embassy officials who seem to have ventured into a sensitive U.S. military facility in Virginia in September this year.

The incident gives more teeth to a US allegation on China going out of its way to strengthen its intelligence gathering capabilities with regards to the United States. This has been another bone of contention between the superpowers already locked horns over a trade war that showed some signs of thawing last week.

Surprisingly, this is for the first time that the US has actually expelled two officials. Indeed, the tension between the nations has reached to levels where such unpleasantness can be seen.  Trump has been instrumental is passing a human rights bill, that received unanimous vote from both Houses. The bill was severely criticized and disliked by Beijing calling it American interference in China’s sovereignty.  

Media reports confirmed that the two Chinese officials from the US embassy entered a sensitive installation in the Norfolk, Va., area in September. The two officials from the Chinese Embassy in Washington tried to gain access to the base. They were turned away but when they forcefully drove about a mile onto the base, they were stopped, detained and therefore expelled as of now.

The Norfolk area has numerous military sites, including several that house Special Operations forces, including Navy SEALs.

Post this incident, the State Department has imposed a restriction on Chinese diplomats urging them to notify the department before any meetings they have with state and local officials, or with educational and research institutions. The data gathering move by the expelled officials seems like a foolhardy move by a superpower like China, or better still, just a way to check America’s preparedness against a possible breach.  Political analysts believe this shouldn’t be seen as a preferred method of gathering intel.