Chinese entities own farmland next to 19 US military bases across the country: Report

Chinese entities own farmland near 19 United States military bases across the nation, according to a recent report from the New York Post.

The news outlet released a map showing the locations of the China-owned land in the U.S. and their proximity to some of the nation's most strategically important bases. The Post noted that some of the sites include Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina; Fort Cavazos in Killeen, Texas; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; and MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

'The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about US military capabilities, movements, and technology.'

Robert S. Spalding III, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, told the Post that the lands' "proximity to strategic locations" is "concerning."

He warned that the Chinese Communist Party could use the farmland to conduct intelligence collection. Spalding noted that the property owners could also be "influential in local politics."

"It is alarming we do not have laws on the books that would prevent the Chinese from buying property in the US," he told the Post.

Sources told the news outlet that the properties could be used to create reconnaissance sights or install tracking and other surveillance technology.

Morgan Lerette, a former contractor for Blackwater, told the Post, "The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about US military capabilities, movements, and technology."

"This will allow them to better understand how to transition their military from a defensive strategy to an expeditionary one," Lerette added.

"It would allow the Chinese to research what is moving and how to combat it. It's easy to identify mobilization if you know what to look for," he continued. "Listening to GIs at a bar talking … Local storage units being rented out near a base is an indicator troops are leaving… A train carrying tanks, Strykers [armored fighting vehicles], and [Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles], followed by an increased number of cargo planes landing and leaving a joint base like Lewis-McChord in Washington state, would indicate when US forces are moving."

Chen Tianqiao, a billionaire and CCP member, according to the Post, is the second-largest foreign owner of farmland in the country.

Jonathan D.T. Ward, senior fellow with the Hudson Institute and the founder of Atlas Organization, told Fox Business that the U.S. needs to "force a divestiture of assets in the U.S. by communist party members or affiliates and they shouldn't earn any money on it."

In March, Kansas lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting foreign adversary-tied entities, which includes China, from purchasing land near its military installations.

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