One of the sailors, Jinchao Wei, was arrested Wednesday as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, according to a statement released Thursday by the US Attorney for the Southern District of California. The base is one of the largest Navy installations in the Pacific.

The other sailor who has been arrested, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme in California.

Prosecutors say that Wei, who served as a machinist’s mate on the USS Essex, allegedly entered into a “handler/asset” relationship with a Chinese intelligence officer beginning in February 2022. Machinist’s mates are a class of engineers, and are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing ship equipment.

Zhao, who was responsible for installing, repairing and servicing electrical equipment on US military installations, also had a security clearance, prosecutors say, and allegedly took photos of computer screens that displayed “operational orders of military training exercises” and provided them to the officer.