Chinese-linked firms buy up land close to key US military bases

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

A chilling new national security alert has been sounded as Chinese-linked firms buy up land alarmingly close to key US military bases - raising fears that America is leaving itself exposed to drone and commando attacks in the event of war. The warning comes amid a wave of innovative military tactics on display in recent months, including Ukraine's deep-strike drone assaults inside Russian territory and Israel's daring sabotage raids on Iranian nuclear sites.
Now, experts say the US homeland could be vulnerable to the same type of attack - an unpredictable and devastating lighting strike by commandos and drones - launched from Chinese-controlled properties right under our noses. Swaths of farmland, mines and other sites in states including North Dakota , Texas and Florida have been quietly acquired by companies with links to Beijing - some just a stone's throw from Air Force and Army bases housing top-secret military gear.
'After Ukraine's drone operation in Russia and Israel's operation in Iran, it is obvious that America's enemies will try to replicate that playbook on our soil,' Gabriel Noronha, a former State Department advisor and president of Polaris National Security , told the Daily Mail. 'It is increasingly dangerous to allow Chinese companies and individuals to own land - especially near our military bases and critical infrastructure.'
Others note that while the US and China are competitors, any differences can be tackled diplomatically. In this vein, the two countries on Friday announced they had resolved issues around shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets. But according to Noronha, China many already have commando-and-drone teams hidden in freight units on US soil ready to strike anything from a military base to an arms cache, communications relay or military research hub.
More likely, he added, they are buying up land so they can gather intelligence and lay the groundwork for such operations in the future - the discovery of a Chinese commando team on US soil would itself spark a crisis. Even so, a US-China conflict could be scarily close. Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly wants his forces to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027 in a move that could draw a fierce American response and kickstart World War III.
'Left unchecked, we are opening our land to host clandestine Chinese military bases to launch all sorts of attacks and cripple our nation in wartime,' added Noronha. He and others say recent strikes by Israel and Ukraine are the new face of warfare. It's one of surgical drone strikes, covert commandos, cyber sabotage and pinpoint chaos that other forces will copy in the future.
In June, Ukraine unleashed Operation Spiderweb, launching cheap drones from trucks it had smuggled into Russia to destroy Russian warplanes worth hundreds of millions of dollars - it was a morale-boosting win in their three-year war. Also in June, Israeli commandos launched explosive drones to strike air-defense radars, communication nodes and other targets in a series of coordinated strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, backed up by warplanes and airstrikes.
Military experts say these game-changing tactics have redefined the rules of modern war, and will be studied by top brass in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, London and beyond as a guide for waging future conflicts. The Pentagon is understood to be especially alarmed, given the scale of Chinese land purchases in the US in recent years. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) investment in farmland has surged by 1,900 percent over the last decade - going from $81 million in 2010 to a whopping $1.8 billion in 2021, a congressional investigation found.
Foreign entities and individuals own roughly 43 million acres of US agricultural land , nearly 2 percent of all US land, according to government data. China owns over 350,000 acres in 27 states, the admin claims. Much of this land is either farmland or plots close to military installations. To address this, US President Donald Trump's agencies are launching an effort to stop the CCP and its entities from purchasing land in the US or getting involved in any businesses that supply food to Americans.
In February, Trump signed a memorandum that restricts 'Chinese investments in strategic US sectors like technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials and others.' Security hawks are currently alarmed by a looming transfer in Arizona of Tonto National Forest land, known as Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper, which plans to mine what it says is the second-largest known copper deposit in the world. The mining outfit is a subsidiary of international mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto - a British and Australian company that has Chinese state-owned aluminum company Chinalco as a main shareholder (about 11.2 percent voting interest).
One analyst, a former congressional aide who spoke to the Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, said the mine would give 'Chinese nationals a cover for being at the site,' which is some 100 miles east of Luke Air Force Base. 'And it offers a footprint on which clandestine capabilities - think 20 ft container filled with drones like Op Spider Web - might be stored without raising alarms,' he added.
Meanwhile, Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State, says the mining deal, which could be finalized within months, risks empowering Chinalco to route strategic copper exports back to China. 'Picture that. America's natural wealth being shipped off to our chief adversary at a moment when the CCP perpetrates economic, political and technological warfare against us daily,' Blackwell wrote in a piece published on Breitbart. 'This is a reckless move that compromises our economic and national security.'
The mine's general manager Vicky Peacey downplayed China's involvement in the project, saying Rio Tinto had operated in the US for more than 150 years and was led by European, Australian and US shareholders. The mine 'can help secure the nation's energy future, support American jobs and reduce reliance on foreign sources for this critical mineral,' she said in a statement to the Daily Mail.