At least 17 military bases adjacent to Chinese-owned farmland across the United States have seen a spike in drone sightings in recent weeks, The Post has learned.
Mysterious drones have been reported at facilities across the country, including near military bases in Hawaii and facilities in Utah, California, Maine and Florida.
The newspaper previously identified 19 military bases in close proximity to farmland bought up by Chinese-owned companies, a situation that could lead to the communist country using the land to spy on U.S. military operations. This is worrying Chinese analysts who are concerned that
All of these facilities except Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bliss in Texas have reported unmanned aircraft attempting to fly over or near the bases, according to local news reports. Ta.
This comes as residents in New York and New Jersey are reporting thousands of sightings of mysterious drones in the night sky.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Tuesday that he believes some of the unidentified drones are “spy drones” from China.
“We need to determine who is behind these drones,” he says. “My judgment, based on my experience, is that those in the air over our military locations are hostile and likely coming from the People’s Republic of China.”
Drones have been reported in Southern California over Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in recent days.
Spokesman Col. James C. Surtain told Warzone that between Dec. 9 and Dec. 15, there were “six incidents of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) incursions over Camp Pendleton.” told.
At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, concerns about “small unmanned aircraft systems” forced officials to close the airspace for four hours last week, said Bob Partiman, chief spokesman for the 88th Air Base Wing. Mr. said. post.
In Virginia, a drone was spotted over Virginia Beach, about 39 miles from Naval Base Norfolk.
Meanwhile, a mysterious drone was spotted earlier this week in Washington state near Fort Lewis Army Base near Tacoma.
Unidentified aircraft have also been reported this month over Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey and Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, forcing the temporary closure of New York’s Stewart International Airport near Poughkeepsie on Sunday.
Officials have previously raised concerns with the Post about Chinese landowners, who typically have ties to or work for communist governments.
Morgan Lelett, a former contractor with private military contractor Blackwater, previously told the Post:
“This will allow them to better understand how to move the military from a defensive strategy to an expeditionary strategy.”
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal in September 2023, Chinese intruders have sneaked into missile launch sites in New Mexico in recent years, and scuba divers have been spotted near a government rocket launch site in Florida. , it was discovered that they had attempted to infiltrate military facilities more than 100 times.
Meanwhile, as of Dec. 31, 2022, Chinese investors owned 349,442 acres of U.S. farmland, according to an analysis by the USDA Farm Service Agency.
Billionaire Chinese Communist Party member Chen Tianqiao is the second-largest foreign farmland owner in the United States. He bought about 200,000 acres of farmland in Oregon in 2015 for about $430 an acre, according to Land Reports.
However, the Daily Caller said his land purchases were not included in government records of land ownership by foreign investors when they were first disclosed in January.
According to NBC, China owns less than 1 percent of foreign-owned farmland in the United States, but critics blame its proximity to important military installations, raising concerns.
Meanwhile, the FBI announced this week that it had received more than 5,000 drone reports since November, but fewer than 100 required further investigation.
The FBI, FAA, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security have all tried to downplay the concerns, saying in a joint statement Monday that the public has little reason to worry.
“Sightings to date have included a combination of legal commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and astronomical aircraft incorrectly reported as drones. We are making the decision,” the official said.
