CHINA-US: ESPIONAGE
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Benjamin Bishop, a 60-year old civilian defense contractor working at the U.S. military's Pacific headquarters was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison by a Honolulu U.S. District Courton September 17, 2014, for divulging military secrets, including ones outlining the U.S. Pentagon's China strategy and the U.S. military's force posture in Asia and the Pacific, to his Chinese girlfriend and keeping classified documents at his Honolulu home. Bishop worked in the field of cyber defense at the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii from May 2011 until his arrest. Before that, he helped develop Pacific Command strategy and policy. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Lt Colonel a year ago. Bishop pleaded guilty in March, saying he mentioned a classified conference between U.S. and South Korean officials while responding to an email from the girlfriend, who is in her late 20s.
The girlfriend, whose identity has not been disclosed, was a Fulbright scholar working on her doctorate in security issues at a U.S. university.
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