Thursday, March 22, 2007

Chinese-born Engineer Faces Jury in Theft of U.S. Secrets

Via Chron.com -

SANTA ANA, Calif. — As a top engineer at a major U.S. defense contractor, Chi Mak helped develop some of the most advanced and closely guarded naval technology in the world, including silent-running propulsion systems that can make submarines virtually undetectable.

Now, in a case that experts say could have serious implications for U.S. security, he is accused of stealing those secrets for the Chinese.

Prosecutors say the Chinese-born Mak was working for China from 1983 until his arrest two years ago, stealing hundreds of documents about a number of defense systems, including the weapons, nuclear reactors and propulsion systems aboard U.S. submarines.

The 66-year-old Mak is set to go on trial Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to export U.S. defense secrets to China, possession of property in aid of a foreign government and failure to register as a foreign agent. He could get more than 50 years in prison if convicted.

If the allegations are true, China may have gained critical information as it tries to develop an open-water fleet to challenge U.S. naval supremacy in Asia, said Richard Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Alexandria, Va.

"China's military capabilities would benefit tremendously from the kind of inside information that he's had access to," Fisher said. "If the Chinese are on the inside track on this one, then we are truly in an arms race."

The case is also troubling because the U.S. government might have to declassify evidence and present it to jurors to prove its case.

"This is the bad choice the government faces," said Paul D. Moore, who served for more than 20 years as the FBI's chief China analyst. "There are a number of people running around the United States who have committed espionage and gotten away with it because the government couldn't afford to lose the information they needed to prove the case."

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