Central ND News

Kevin Cramer, a senator from North Dakota, said in an interview with Fox News that the United States must remain vigilant against foreign actors exploiting access to American land, institutions, and infrastructure to conduct espionage or other malicious activities.

"When adversaries can buy our land, attend our universities, photograph silos in our prairies, perform aerial surveillance, park their ships near our military bases, or even just join our PTAs," said Cramer, U.S. Senator (R). "Our posture must always be vigilant, never assuming foreign actors are benign or have the best intentions. Whether it's directly spying, indirectly influencing, or sending drones to blow up aircraft, the ability of the enemy increases when we allow them easy access near our national interests."

Following Ukraine’s recent drone assault on Russian installations, concerns have intensified over U.S. vulnerabilities to similar tactics, irrespective of America’s stance on Kyiv’s actions. According to Fox News, entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party have targeted land near sensitive U.S. military sites. This includes the 2021 purchase of 300 acres near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota by the Fufeng Group. The acquisition drew bipartisan scrutiny in Congress and prompted several states, including Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis, to enact bans on such foreign real estate transactions.

Foreign investors held an interest in approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, representing 3.1% of all privately held agricultural land in the United States. This data is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2021 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) report.

Inside Defense reports that in February 2023, the U.S. military shot down an unidentified airborne object off the coast of Alaska. The object was flying at 40,000 feet and was deemed a threat to civilian aircraft. This incident followed the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, highlighting challenges posed by foreign aerial surveillance.

Cramer has served as the U.S. Senator from North Dakota since 2019. He is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and has been vocal about national security concerns, particularly regarding foreign investments near U.S. military installations.