US intelligence analyst charged with selling army plans on Taiwan

ISTANBUL

The US has arrested and charged an intelligence analyst with selling American army plans on Taiwan for use if the island nation comes under military attack.

Korbein Schultz, a US Army soldier and intelligence analyst, was arrested Thursday and charged him “conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official,” the US Justice Department said in a statement.

Schultz, who was arrested at Fort Campbell, situated in the US states of Kentucky and Tennessee, enjoyed top secret security clearance.

An alleged conspirator mentioned in the indictment is said to have lived in Hong Kong and “worked for a geopolitical consulting firm based overseas.”

From June 2022 until the time of his arrest, the court indictment claims Schultz conspired with this person “to disclose documents, writings, plans, maps, notes, and photographs relating to national defense as well as information relating to national defense.”

Such material “could be used to injure the United States or used to the advantage of a foreign nation,” it said.

Schultz is said to have received $42,000 in 14 payments for revealing the secrets to the foreign recruiter.

The court statement said the foreign recruiter tasked Schultz “with gathering information related to a variety of US military weapons systems, including classified information, and information related to the United States’ potential plans in the event that Taiwan came under military attack.”

It included documents related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, information on hypersonic equipment, studies on the future development of US military forces, studies on major countries such as China, and summaries of military drills and operations.

Taiwan has recently gained greater significance in the great power rivalry in Asia-Pacific, as the US backs the independently governed island nation, which China calls a “breakaway province."

Washington has supplied arms and ammunition to Taiwan worth billions of dollars while some special American forces personnel have also been deployed there.

Separately, China on Friday said it has always put great importance on “intellectual property protection, while opposing the US' move of suppressing Chinese enterprises and nationals."

China’s Foreign Ministry was responding to reports that said a Chinese national was arrested in the US for alleged theft of Google AI data.

"China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms and nationals," said ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.