The Chinese government decried the secret expulsion of two of its diplomats suspected of espionage in the United States, making it the first official acknowledgment by either side of the expulsions.
A statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry during a news conference on Tuesday demanded the U.S. reverse its decision.
“The U.S. accusation on our officials is completely inconsistent with the truth. We made stern representations and protests to the U.S. side. We urge the U.S. to correct its mistake, withdraw this decision and protect Chinese diplomats’ legitimate rights and interests according to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Geng Shuang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said when asked about the expulsions.
The U.S. government quietly expelled the diplomats this fall after they breached a sensitive military base in Virginia, the New York Times reported. They appear to be the first expulsions of Chinese diplomats suspected of spying in more than three decades. In 1987, the U.S. apprehended two Chinese diplomats who had tried to obtain classified National Security Agency documents.
Two Chinese officials were with their wives when they drove onto the base near Norfolk in September and only stopped when fire trucks blocked their path.
American officials suspect at least one of the Chinese officials was an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover.
After the New York Times published its story, Chinese Embassy officials privately explained the incident was an innocent mistake. Others said their colleagues were on a sightseeing trip and questioned whether the expulsions were in response to Beijing’s propaganda campaign in August against Julie Eadeh, a political officer in the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
American officials have increasingly sounded the alarm about China’s threat to national security. American officials said Chinese officials with diplomatic passports have become more daring about showing up unannounced at research or government facilities.
