COSCO — the China Ocean Shipping Company, owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party — has been running sophisticated signals intelligence collection operations from its massive cargo vessels while docked at U.S. ports. Three House committee chairmen say the ships are equipped to monitor military communications technologies, encryption developments, and key shipping lanes crucial for American trade and military navigation.
The Pentagon already designates COSCO as a Chinese military company. The Coast Guard's Qualship 21 program gave them reduced inspections anyway.
House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar of Michigan, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford of Arkansas, and Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez of Florida laid it out in terms that don't leave much room for interpretation. "COSCO, a Chinese-military company and one of the world's largest shippers, is using its vessels to conduct espionage operations near U.S. coastlines," the three wrote, as reported by RedState.
The allegations aren't new to anyone who's been paying attention. Reuters reported back in September that COSCO vessels were being used as floating intelligence platforms — collecting data on military communications technologies and encryption developments, and monitoring key shipping lanes and maritime routes crucial for trade and military navigation. What's new is that three committee chairmen with direct oversight authority are now putting their names on it and pushing for action.
China hawk and political analyst Gordon Chang didn't mince — actually, he was perfectly clear about the remedy. "Toss COSCO out of America. Revoke all licenses. Shut all operations. What are we waiting for?" Chang said. Rep. Pat Harrigan, Republican from North Carolina's 10th district, echoed the call: "If reports that COSCO is spying on our military are true, revoke its licenses and shut down its U.S. operations."
China's embassy rejected the claims, which is roughly as surprising as the sun rising in the east. Beijing denies everything from Uyghur detention camps to the origins of COVID, so adding "we're not spying from cargo ships" to the list doesn't exactly move the needle. The pattern is familiar: American officials present specific intelligence findings, China issues a blanket denial, and the media treats both statements as equally credible.
The Qualship 21 angle deserves a closer look, because it captures how something like this happens in plain sight. The Coast Guard program rewards shipping companies with strong safety records by reducing how often their vessels get inspected. On paper, it's an efficiency measure. In practice, it means a Pentagon-designated Chinese military company got fewer eyes on its ships — the same ships now accused of running signals intelligence operations in American harbors. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin's department oversees both the Coast Guard and port security. The question isn't whether the program will be reviewed. It's why it took this long.
Every major port city in America has watched these ships come and go for years. The cranes load. The cranes unload. The ships sit at dock for hours, sometimes days, with equipment running that has nothing to do with shipping containers.
Three committee chairmen, a Pentagon designation, a Reuters investigation, and the Coast Guard was still giving them the express lane.