China or its citizens could be tied to recent drone sightings, US lawmaker Mark Green says

Pentagon and Homeland Security’s claim that no evidence of foreign entity or criminal activity ‘means they don’t know what it is’, he adds

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This photo provided by Trisha Bushey shows points of light seen near Lebanon Township, New Jersey, on Thursday, December 5. Photo: AP

Published: 5:35am, 18 Dec 2024Updated: 12:13am, 19 Dec 2024

An influential US lawmaker has suggested that China or its citizens – some of whom may have entered America illegally – could be tied to recent drone sightings over New Jersey and nearby states, despite officials’ repeated denials of foreign involvement.

When the US departments of defence and homeland security claim they “have no evidence that it’s a foreign entity or some criminal activity, that means they don’t know what it is and that’s not good enough”, said US congressman Mark Green, who chairs the House homeland security committee, on Tuesday.

Green, a Tennessee Republican and China hawk, added: “Just last week, the FBI arrested a Chinese national flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base.”

“He was trying leave the country when they actually arrested him,” he continued. “So tying this to China, we have clear indications they’re flying drones in the United States over our sensitive sites.”

Green shared his remarks at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

On December 10, Yinpiao Zhou, a lawful US permanent resident, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport for allegedly flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and recording images of the military facility.

US congressman Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican, speaks at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP