The suspect was assigned to the headquarters for the Navy’s Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence collection activities.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin
On Sunday, Reuters reported that a U.S. Navy officer with access to sensitive U.S. intelligence faces espionage charges over accusations he passed state secrets, possibly to China and Taiwan.
According to Reuters, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the suspect as Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin, who was born in Taiwan and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The suspect was assigned to the headquarters for the Navy’s Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence collection activities.
A redacted Navy charge sheet accused him twice of communicating secret information and three times of attempting to do so to a representative of a foreign government “with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the advantage of a foreign nation.”
However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he was not aware of the details of the case and China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had no information on the case. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.