The UK said it is moving to stop ex-military pilots from offering training to China, warning they could be prosecuted under an espionage law.
“When former UK military pilots provide training to the People’s Liberation Army of China it clearly erodes the UK’s defense advantage,” the British Ministry of Defense wrote yesterday on Twitter. “We are taking immediate steps to deter and penalize this activity.”
The ministry said it was “engaging with the individuals already involved to ensure they are fully aware of the risk of prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.”
Photo: Reuters
The comments come after the BBC reported that as many as 30 people who once served in the nation’s armed forces were providing their expertise to members of the Chinese military.
Some trainers were being paid about US$270,000, the report said, citing a Western official who was not named.
Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Defence yesterday said the military was investigating reports that its former pilots were accepting training roles in China.
Photo: EPA-EFE / CPL Robert Whitmore / Australian Defence Force handout
Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said he had asked the defense department to investigate claims that former Australian military pilots had also been recruited to join a South African flight school that operated in China.
The South African company, Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it had hired Australian pilots to work in China.
In an undated advertisement with the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) available online, TFASA said it was seeking a number of fixed-wing and helicopter test-pilot instructors to work at an undisclosed location in “Far East Asia” with an initial contract commitment of four years.
“I don’t know anyone who has gone, but they’re clearly targeting Western/Five Eyes test pilots,” the SETP member told reporters on condition of anonymity, referring to the intelligence group of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. “We all go to the schools they listed.”
In Taipei, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) told lawmakers that foreign governmental groups have hired some retired Taiwanese military pilots to work overseas.
Chiu made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee after lawmakers asked if former Taiwanese pilots had also been lured to China to provide training and intelligence.
Chiu said that some retired pilots were known to have put themselves in foreign employ, but he does not know the exact number.
He did not specify if China was among the countries that hired Taiwanese pilots.
Asked whether the military has plans to use foreign advisers to improve its tactical training, Chiu said no such plans had been made for the air force, as the service has enough instructors and the cadre can be expanded by activating reserves.
Some units in other military branches are training with foreign advisers, he said, but added that he is not at liberty to disclose details about the programs.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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