Chinese spy or feckless tourists?

via Miami Herald

A Chinese national was indicted Friday on charges he illegally photographed a military installation in Key West, taking both digital photos and video.

Zhao Qianli, 20, appeared in U.S. District Court in Key West on Friday for arraignment, speaking in court through a Mandarin interpreter.

He is accused of walking around a fence on a beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park on Sept. 26 and taking pictures of the Joint Interagency Task Force South, which is responsible for security and military operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

This one is a head scratcher to me.  I know the Chinese have a big interest in S. America but this seems like a silly way to get intel.  Easier to just turn someone in the inside with big money bribes or simply hack terminals.

I'm assuming that the place was clearly marked as restricted so why would he do this?  I do know the Chinese are some SERIOUS camera bugs and I imagine a trip to the US and to view the US military COULD POSSIBLY be innocent but I just don't know.

This one is kinda frustrating to me.  I know that more serious threats are lurking inside our own govt that are acting on the behalf of the Chinese, so to nab this 20 year old that obviously lacks even a little skill doesn't fill me with confidence.

I'll wait to hear more on the dude but I'm not exactly cheering this one.