Duval Times

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has raised concerns over federal grants allegedly strengthening the Chinese military. In a recent statement, Rubio cited an unclassified analysis from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), revealing that U.S. taxpayers have unknowingly funded thousands of Chinese experiments with direct military applications.

The analysis highlights over 5,000 instances of research collaboration between the Department of Defense’s funding agencies and Chinese entities in the past five years. According to Rubio, these collaborations are not limited to academic experiments but include critical areas such as eavesdropping, stealth technology, underwater acoustics, explosives, semiconductors, cryptography, cybersecurity, and data mining.

Rubio emphasized that this research could potentially give Beijing an advantage in key areas of modern warfare. He also pointed out human rights concerns, noting that for more than a decade, the Department of Defense has supported scientists collaborating with companies involved in Beijing’s mass surveillance programs and systematic oppression of ethnic and religious groups, including the Uyghurs.

Rubio stated that China now has nearly unrestricted access to America’s fundamental research due to insufficient prohibitions in grant language regarding co-authorship and collaboration. While he credited NCIS for its analysis, he noted it only reveals a small sample of problematic studies facilitated by U.S. funding agencies.

In response to these findings, Rubio announced plans to introduce new legislation alongside U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-OH). The proposed FORTIFY U.S. Research Act aims to safeguard taxpayer-funded research and close loopholes that adversaries have exploited. Acknowledging the challenges of passing new legislation during a presidential election year, Rubio stressed the necessity of such measures to prevent government incompetence from compromising national security.

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