Germany arrests U.S. military man accused of spying for China

Nov. 7 (UPI) — Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office Thursday charged a U.S. armed forces member with spying for China.

The man, identified only as Martin D., allegedly offered China sensitive U.S. military information he had obtained working for the American military, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

“Until recently, Martin D. worked for the U.S. armed forces in Germany,” it said. “In 2024, he contacted Chinese government agencies and offered to provide them with sensitive US military information for forwarding to a Chinese intelligence service. He had obtained the information in question during his work for the U.S. armed forces.”

The man’s apartment was searched and he was due in a German court Thursday.

“The investigations were conducted in close cooperation with the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution,” the prosecutor’s office said. “The accused will be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice.”

The judge will decide about pretrial detention at the initial court appearance.

Prosecutors said he is “strongly suspected of having declared his willingness to act as an intelligence agent for a foreign secret service.”

In April, Germany arrested two men holding dual German-Russian citizenship in a suspected plot to sabotage two U.S. military bases in Germany that support Ukraine.

Those men were publicly identified only as Dieter S and Alexander J.

Dieter S was charged for conspiring to cause an explosive attack or arson. Alexander J is accused of espionage, suspected of supporting Dieter s in his sabotage efforts.

Also in April, Britain accused two men of spying for China while Germany arrested three German nationals suspected of providing military technology information to China.