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Two Asian Americans have been arrested for illegally exporting computer chips with military applications to China, a charge that has raised debate among Chinese media outlets.

According to a notice released by U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 19, Yi-Chi Shih, a 62-year-old electrical engineer, and Kiet Ahn Mai, a 63-year-old Pasadena resident, were arrested for conspiring to have a U.S. company make special high-speed computer chips that were illegally exported to a Chinese company connected to Shih. According to media reports, Shih, an alleged Chinese American, and Mai, an alleged Vietnamese American, could face years in prison if convicted.

The arrest has caught Chinese media outlets’ attention. According to an article released by Global Times on Thursday, such incidents show the U.S. anxiety over China’s growing scientific prowess.

“China has made great achievements in science and technology in recent years, which has worried America. Under such circumstances, it is understandable that the U.S. has been constantly attacking China for stealing advanced technologies,” an anonymous commentator told Global Times.

China’s scientific achievements in recent years have indeed worried the U.S. According to the National Science Foundation’s 2018 Science & Engineering indicators, a massive biennial report that tracks scientific activity around the world, China continues to close the gap with the U.S. in the international race for scientific supremacy at a “suffocating speed.”

Some experts have also expressed their concern over the arrest, noting that Asian Americans, especially Chinese Americans, might become victims of U.S. suspicion of China, just because of their ethnicity.

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According to the Committee of 100, a leadership organization of Chinese Americans in business, government, and academia, the percentage of people of Chinese heritage charged under the Economic Espionage Act has tripled since 2009 to 52%, while 22% of people of Asian heritage charged with economic espionage were never convicted of espionage.