A young sailor serving in the US Navy has been charged with selling classified military information to China.

The 25-year-old man, identified as Jinchao Wei , was said to have communicated with a Chinese intelligence agent through social media and exchanged confidential information about US warships for money.

There is also evidence that this young man was paid more than 12,000 US dollars in just 18 months.

This act is a "grave betrayal of the trust placed in the American military," endangering the security of his comrades and the nation.

The court is examining everything from phone conversations to electronic messages to prove the crime.