A report that Chinese nationals, often posing as tourists, gained access to U.S. military bases and other sites as many as 100 times in recent years is a "troubling" development, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said on Newsmax, Tuesday.
"There are tours at select bases around the country where folks can come and they're very guided," Holt said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "If you want to take a picture, you're going to get a picture of a building or a jet or something. You're not going to get something of classified value."
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that U.S. officials are saying there is a potential espionage threat with people attempting to get onto military bases and other places without proper authorization, including Chinese nationals who were found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico and scuba divers swimming near a U.S. launch site in Florida.
"Why aren't we holding them diplomatically accountable?" said Holt, adding that Biden administration officials such as Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo "just rolls in" with visits to China.
"China, which so desperately wants foreign direct investment, is ready to accuse every single person in their country of being a spy," said Holt. "None of this makes sense but all of it makes sense when you consider American weakness."
Holt also on Tuesday discussed the dismissal of Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Resnikov and the potential appointment of Rustem Umerov, a former lawmaker who runs the State Property Fund, to replace him. Holt said the replacement could potentially hasten the end of the war.
"Umarov is formerly the Ukrainian member of Parliament representing Crimea," said Holt. "He is Uzbek-born but spent most of his life in Crimea, and he's got a history in this war of negotiating with the Russians. In his past, he helped negotiate the grain deal."
Holt said this indicates that with Umarov in "arguably the number two position in Ukraine," the country could be getting "geared up" for some kind of discussions with Russia for an off-ramp from the war.
"I don't believe Resnikov was ever going to be in that position, based on what's happened in the war," said Holt.
He further discussed the upcoming meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they may be also working toward an end to the war.
"The other thing is, Erdogan is also linked up with [Narendra] Modi, the prime minister of India, because he's going to host the G-20 summit next week," said Holt. "He would also like to see an off-ramp to the war.
"He wants to show something for his presidency of the G-20, and the Russians aren't having it unless the G-20 comes to an acknowledgment about their grievances. There are a lot of twisted pieces of the puzzle right now, but we could end up getting to some sort of dialogue here soon."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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