On December 12, 2024, U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (Democratic Party of Illinois) expressed concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s potential use of drones against the United States, stating that this possibility is “nontrivial.”
Krishnamoorthi serves on the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for reviewing senior Democratic Party officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He participated in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” program on Wednesday, December 11, and shared his views on the increasing incidents of Chinese drone sightings.
When host Blake Burman asked if the Chinese drone sightings could be attributed to Chinese “malice,” the congressman indicated that this possibility was substantial.
He said, “This possibility is far from trivial, it does exist, and it’s very likely they are using these drones to collect data.”
Krishnamoorthi explained that under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to allow the CCP government to access user data obtained through backdoors worldwide.
The 2017 Chinese Cybersecurity Law stipulates that companies must store data in China. Additionally, under China’s National Security Law, the government has the authority to request data from companies for inspection.
Krishnamoorthi also pointed out that the Fairfax County law enforcement department in the Washington, D.C. area had received a warning from Congress when considering purchasing drones manufactured in China.
“You can imagine these drones flying over sensitive locations in Washington, D.C., what they might do,” Krishnamoorthi said. He noted that any information these drones receive could potentially be covertly obtained by the CCP.
Krishnamoorthi’s remarks came shortly before reports of suspicious drones flying near sensitive military bases in New Jersey and California.
The Pentagon stated that there was “no evidence” indicating the drones were from foreign entities or orchestrated by adversaries. However, Congressman Jeff Van Drew (Republican Party of New Jersey) claimed that Iran launched these drones via a mothership.
Moreover, a legal Chinese resident in the U.S. who remotely piloted a drone over the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was arrested on a flight bound for China from San Francisco International Airport earlier this week and has been charged.
Robert Wheeler, Deputy Director of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, testified before Congress that the agency is investigating unidentified drone incidents near U.S. military bases.
Krishnamoorthi reiterated his concerns: if the drones are made in China, they could relay information back to the CCP.
He said, “Unfortunately, this is an area where the CCP truly invests heavily in controlling markets, not just in China or the U.S., but globally, so this is another platform we must pay attention to.”
According to a report from Voice of America in May, the CCP may acquire user data from overseas through various applications to bolster its overseas propaganda. For instance, the CCP government is using data obtained from popular apps like Temu to analyze the preferences, decision-making patterns, and social trends of overseas target audiences to enhance the angle and direction of overseas propaganda.
Bill Drexel, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security’s Technology and National Security Program, told Voice of America that one should not underestimate the consequences of the CCP accessing user data to strengthen overseas propaganda. This data provides the CCP government with information on various aspects of users, including their interests, psychological states, and motivations. While this information has been traditionally used for consumer-targeted advertising, the CCP government can also employ it for targeted overseas propaganda.
Drexel said, “The CCP has conducted the largest propaganda campaign in human history. Many times their propaganda may seem somewhat clumsy to outsiders, and sometimes even backfires, but in reality, they have very effective systems in certain areas that are far more efficient than many Westerners realize.”