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world news Diasabra 10 OctOber 2020

Singapore man sentenced to prison for spying for China in US

(AP) — A man from Sin- greed but also be a shared de- Tanya Chutkan during a eratives after a 2015 trip to for his Chinese intelligence
gapore was sentenced to sire with China's Communist virtual hearing in Washing- Beijing to give a presentation. contacts. Another recruit, a
14 months in prison Fri- government to weaken the ton was two months shorter Working under the opera- State Department employee
day for spying by passing global standing of the Unit- than the punishment recom- tives' direction over the next who prosecutors say con-
to the Chinese govern- ed States. Over the course mended by prosecutors, and several years, the Justice De- fided to feeling dissatisfied at
ment valuable, but un- of multiple years, according took into account Yeo's coop- partment alleges, he concoct- work, wrote at Yeo's direction
classified military and po- to the Justice Department, eration as well as the corona- ed a fake consulting company a report on a Cabinet mem-
litical information that he he passed along reports on virus pandemic that has rav- that shared its name with a ber, according to court docu-
had duped Americans into a military aircraft program, aged the U.S. prison system. prominent U.S. consulting ments. Prosecutors said they
giving him. U.S. troop withdrawal in Af- Yeo, who was arrested in company and used a profes- would have recommended
ghanistan and on a Cabinet November 2019 after an in- sional networking site to tar- a harsher sentence for Yeo,
Jun Wei Yeo admitted par- member, who was not identi- terview with the FBI, will get Americans whose jobs he who pleaded guilty to acting
ticipating in an elaborate ruse fied in court papers. receive credit for the jail time thought would given them as an agent of a foreign gov-
under the direction of Chi- "It was a not one-off lapse in he has already served, mean- access to information that ernment, but for his coop-
nese intelligence operatives judgment that we're talking ing he should be released in a China could use to its advan- eration. He was approached
that recruited unsuspecting about here," said Assistant matter of weeks. He will be tage.In addition, prosecutors by the FBI at an airport last
U.S. government employees U.S. Attorney Erik Kener- deported after the comple- say, he created fake job post- November, and though he
into writing reports that he son. The prosecutor said Yeo tion of his sentence. ings and collected hundreds initially declined an inter-
said would be sent to clients "worked for a hostile power Yeo said he was eager to re- of resumes from would-be view request and headed
in Asia. The reports were on our soil to collect non- turn home to his family in applicants, most of whom toward boarding his flight,
instead transmitted to the public information of inter- Singapore. "I take full re- were military and govern- he changed his mind and re-
Chinese government as part est to that power." sponsibility for what I have ment personnel. He passed turned to the agents to agree
of what the Trump adminis- The Justice Department be- done," Yeo said. along the promising resumes to be questioned.
tration has alleged is a broad- lieves Yeo was arrested before "I am sympathetic to China's to a Chinese handler. "Mr. Yeo, while he was still
er effort by China to steal he was able to obtain any clas- position," he told the judge, One of his recruits, a civil- free to leave the United States
American secrets, including sified information, though "but it was not my intention ian who worked for the Air agreed to cooperate with the
cutting-edge research, for prosecutors say he was pre- to harm anyone." Force, provided information United State and was within
Beijing's economic gain. paring to receive some before Yeo was a doctoral candidate about the implications of the hours, was completely truth-
Prosecutors allege that Yeo, he was taken into custody. at a Singapore university Japanese purchasing military ful with the government
also known as Dickson Yeo, The 14-month sentence im- when prosecutors say he was aircraft from the U.S. that about what was going on," he
was motivated not only by posed by U.S. District Judge recruited by intelligence op- Yeo then turned into a report said.

Iran foreign minister on China visit following US sanctions

(AP) — China says Iran's foreign Thursday's U.S. move hits 18 Iranian Iran nuclear deal by steadily increas-
minister will visit the country banks that had thus far escaped the ing pressure on through sanctions on
from Friday to Saturday, a day bulk of reimposed U.S. sanctions and its oil sales, blacklisting top govern-
after the Trump administration subjects foreign, non-Iranian finan- ment officials and killing a top gen-
blacklisted virtually all of Iran's cial institutions to penalties for doing eral in an airstrike.
financial sector in the latest step business with them. That effectively
aimed at the oil-rich country's cuts them off from the international Almost the entire rest of the world
economy. financial system. has vowed to ignore the latest U.S.
The blacklisting has been opposed sanctions but violating them will
In a brief announcement, China's by European nations because it will come with significant risk of losing
foreign ministry said only that For- open up their biggest banks and other access to the U.S. financial system.
eign Minister Javad Zarif was visit- companies to U.S. penalties for con-
ing at the invitation of his Chinese ducting business with Iran that had The Chinese ministry said Indone-
counterpart Wang Yi. China has been previously been allowed. sia's presidential special envoy for
a staunch Iranian ally and remains China, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and
a party to the 2015 Iranian nuclear Zarif reacted angrily to the designa- Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro
agreement from which the U.S. has tions, calling them a "crime against Locsin Jr. are visiting Beijing at the
withdrawn while unilaterally reinsti- humanity" at a time of global crisis. same time as Zarif. There was no in-
tuting punishing sanctions on Iran. The move comes as the U.S. has dication whether they will meet with
stepped up efforts to kill the 2015 Wang as a group.

Japan, Mongolia to cooperate on 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific'

(AP) — The foreign min- U.S. Secretary of State Mike conference Friday that they
isters of Japan and Mon- Pompeo canceled a trip to pledged further cooperation
golia agreed Friday to co- Mongolia because of Presi- in achieving the FOIP, while
operate in promoting a dent Donald Trump's CO- agreeing to step up security,
"Free and Open Indo-Pa- VID-19 infection. medical and economic coop-
cific," a vision that Tokyo Motegi, who agreed with eration.
is pushing with the U.S. counterparts from the U.S.,
and other "like-minded" Australia and India at "Quad" The two sides also signed
countries to counter Chi- talks in Tokyo on Tuesday a $235 million emergency
na's growing assertiveness to seek more countries' sup- loan to help the pandemic-
in the region. port for the FOIP concept of hit Mongolian economy and
security and economic co- fund medical equipment.
Japanese Foreign Minister operation in ensuring open Japan and the U.S. have been
Toshimitsu Motegi held talks sea lanes to the Middle East. pushing the FOIP as a way to
in Ulaanbaatar on Friday China claims most of the bring together countries that
with his Mongolian counter- South China Sea. share concerns about China's
part, Nyamtseren Enkhtai- The Japanese and Mongo- growing influence in the re-
van. Motegi's visit came after lian ministers said at a news gion.