Alleged espionage spans years, states, Navy says

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Edward Chieh-Liang Lin’s alleged espionage-related transgressions occurred between 2011 and 2015 in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Jacksonville, Fla., and Hawaii, culminating with his arrest at Honolulu Airport in September, according to officials and the charges brought against the former Kaneohe Bay flight officer.

Lin pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all of the charges in Norfolk, Va., and asked for a jury trial, an official said.

At the time of his arrest, Lin was with the highly secretive Special Projects Patrol Squadron 2 (VPU-2) “Wizards” at Kaneohe Bay. The group, which flies specially modified spy planes, had been known to change P-3 Orion aircraft paint schemes and identifying numbers to blend in with other Navy planes.

The officer is suspected of aiding Taiwan, an official previously said, but media reports also have referenced China. Lin, 39, a Taiwanese native who was naturalized as an American citizen, has been in custody at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake, Va., since his arrest Sept. 11 by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, according to his family and U.S. officials. A U.S. official said Lin was attempting to fly to either China or Taiwan.

On May 10, Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, based in Norfolk, Va., approved charges against Lin, including two specifications of espionage, three specifications of attempted espionage, three specifications of making a false official statement, five specifications of improperly communicating defense information and other charges.

The referred charges, released Tuesday, provide location information that was previously blacked out by the government.

The two specifications of espionage for communicating secret information to a foreign government allegedly occurred between 2012 and 2014 in Washington, D.C. During that time frame, Lin was on the staff of the assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management; a student with Patrol Squadron 30 in Jacksonville, Fla.; and with VPU-2 at Kaneohe Bay, according to biographical data supplied by the Navy.

The false official statement charges include the allegation that Lin failed to properly report foreign travel in late 2011.

Lin additionally is accused of wrongfully transporting secret material at the San Francisco airport in early 2015. He faces three specifications of attempted espionage for attempting to pass secret information in September 2015 to a representative of a foreign government while in Hawaii, the referred charges state.