Senators Introduce ‘Protect Our Bases Act’ as China Continues Purchasing Land Near US Military Sites

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) speaks to members of the media at Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 23, 2020. Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. senators have introduced new legislation aimed at combating national security threats posed by malign foreign land purchases near military bases in the United States.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking Republican member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), introduced the legislation, known as the Protect Our Bases Act, on Oct. 24.

The bill comes as experts have warned that China has been exploiting various loopholes in recent years in an effort to purchase large swathes of U.S. land with the aim of sabotaging U.S. national security.

Under the newly introduced legislation, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) would be allowed to review certain types of foreign land purchases if they’re made near sensitive military, intelligence, and national laboratory sites.

Specifically, the bill requires agencies represented by the CFIUS to provide to Congress on an annual basis updated records of the military, intelligence, and national laboratory facilities that should be deemed sensitive sites for national security purposes.

The measure also requires the CFIUS to submit an annual report to Congress certifying the completion of such reviews, specifying whether the new list is up to date and, if not, providing an explanation as to why.

In announcing the new measure, the Republican senators cited Fufeng Group, a Chinese company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which announced in 2022 that it planned to purchase 370 acres of land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota for $2.6 million after the Grand Forks City Council voted to annex the property.

Grand Forks Air Force Base is located about 12 miles from the city of Grand Forks, N.D. Residents have organized to oppose a corn mill investment by a Chinese company with reputed ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through its company chairman. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

‘Significant Flaw in Law’

At the time, the CFIUS determined that it couldn’t evaluate the transaction for national security risks because the Air Force base wasn’t listed by the Department of Defense as a sensitive site for national security purposes, meaning that the Hong Kong-listed company could effectively proceed with its planned land purchase—supposedly to build a corn mill—despite Washington’s national security concerns.

While the City of Grand Forks initially sought to greenlight the project, noting that it would help to generate jobs and tax revenue, it ultimately blocked the transaction.

The Republican senators said the 2022 incident highlighted a “significant flaw” in the review process when it comes to foreign land purchases.

“The Chinese Communist Party can’t be allowed to compromise the security of military and government facilities on our home turf,” Mr. Scott said in an Oct. 24 statement.

“By enhancing the review of foreign real estate transactions near sites that are vital to U.S. national security, this legislation will increase accountability to help ensure the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States can take proper action to push back on Communist China and keep our nation safe.”

Mr. Crapo said in a statement, “Idaho is home to the world-renowned Idaho National Laboratory and military bases and installations responsible for research, development, and training of critical national security importance.”

The legislation is necessary to “protect sensitive military and government sites from encroachment by foreign adversaries on our own land,” he said.

President Joe Biden (R) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 14, 2022. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Experts Warn Chinese Firms ‘Exploiting Loopholes’

Mr. Daines took aim at what he said was President Joe Biden’s “weakness on the world stage” that has emboldened U.S. adversaries.

“We must take action to protect the United States from potential national security threats,” the lawmaker said. “Purchasing land around sensitive intelligence sites and national labs gives foreign nations increased ability to spy on the United States—it must be stopped.”

Last year, Ross Kennedy, founder of U.S.-based logistics and supply chain advisory Fortis Analysis and senior fellow at Security Studies Group, told NTD’s “China in Focus” that Chinese firms have increased their purchase of U.S. farmland under the pretense of building green energy and agriculture projects—a welcome economic development to many areas of the United States.

However, the expert warned that such companies were “exploiting gaps” in the U.S. infrastructure base and will continue to “exploit every loophole ... every means within their arsenal of tactics and tricks and strategies, to undermine the national security of the United States.”

Mr. Kennedy cited Fufeng Group’s attempts to purchase the 370 acres of land in North Dakota, as well as the acquisition of 140,000 acres of farmland in Val Verde County, Texas, since 2016, by a Chinese billionaire to build a wind farm.

The expert warned that the locations chosen by the Chinese companies for their projects would allow them to “conduct passive, active intelligence signals gathering, electronic intelligence, counterespionage,” among other activities that could potentially have negative implications for U.S. national security.

States that host military bases and military infrastructure need to take responsibility to tackle the practice going forward, Mr. Kennedy said.

Hannah Ng and Tiffany Meier contributed to this report.