U.S. Allies Seek to Stop Former Military Pilots From Helping China
Australia to review policies after investigation into training of Chinese aircrews raises concerns, following U.K.
From Today's WSJ.
"SYDNEY—Australia will review its rules aimed at deterring former military personnel from aiding foreign adversaries, as U.S. allies grow concerned that China has recruited Western pilots and benefited from their technical expertise.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said an investigation into whether former Australian personnel had provided training to China had raised concerns that justified a deeper examination of existing regulations. He declined to say whether any individual Australians had helped China, but said some cases remained under investigation.
“It’s really important that we have the most robust framework possible that is in place to protect Australia’s information and protect our secrets,” Mr. Marles said on Wednesday.
Key U.S. allies have expressed worries in recent weeks that China, which the Biden administration views as
the greatest threat to American security, was trying to lure former pilots and erode the West’s military advantage. Last month, the U.K. Defense Ministry said it would take steps, including through legislation, to deter and penalize former military pilots who helped train the Chinese military.
The U.S. is also seeking to prosecute former pilots who may have helped China. Earlier this week, the Justice Department said Shapour Moinian, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot who then worked for defense contractors, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting as an agent of the Chinese government and accepting money from its representatives in exchange for aviation-related information.
In a faxed reply to questions Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry effectively declined to comment, saying it wasn’t familiar with the situation.
The Biden administration recently released a new defense strategy that called for a concerted effort to deter Beijing in the coming decades. That prompted a response from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian who said the paper was “driven ostensibly by a Cold War zero-sum mentality” and that China’s development strengthened world peace.
The U.S. and its allies rely in part on air power to deter China from taking more aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific, and air maneuvers would likely be a key feature of any Chinese effort to invade Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. Dozens of Chinese aircraft were involved in operations that
simulated a blockade of Taiwan in August, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said at the time.
By working with former Western military pilots, even through civilian training schools, foreign adversaries such as China could glean information regarding standard operating procedures and doctrines about how Western air forces are run. Although current laws make it illegal to disclose state secrets, teaching foreign pilots how to fly may not be considered classified and could fall into a gray area, some defense experts said.
“It really to me sounds like they’re just tightening an existing loophole,” said Victor Abramowicz, a former Australian defense department employee who worked in intelligence and strategic areas and is now principal at Ostoya Consulting. “They might be aware of people who are considering job offers now, and this is saying to them, don’t get too close, because laws are going to change.”
Any effort by China or other foreign rivals to recruit British and Australian pilots would be concerning for U.S. defense officials. Last year, all three countries
signed a security pact called Aukus that covers a range of military cooperation. U.S. troops train in northern Australia and the U.S. is investing in more military infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region, including airfields that would become key in any military conflict.
One flight school, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa, has previously promoted its deep links with China. According to its website, the school has helped with aircraft testing in China since 2003, and in 2010 it created an academy in South Africa to train Chinese commercial airline pilots. A section of the website describing how the school also provides training for military pilots, including advanced fighter tactics and weapons instruction, was removed in October, according to cached versions of the site.
In a statement, the school said none of its training involves classified tactics or other information, and none of its trainers are in possession of legally or operationally sensitive information relating to the national-security interests of any country.
The school says it has been in contact with the U.K. Defense Ministry for years about its work, and the U.K. side hadn’t previously raised concerns.
In recent weeks, Australian authorities detained Daniel Edmund Duggan, who according to the website of his former company used to be a pilot for the U.S. Marines. More recently, he did work with an aviation consulting firm in China, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The U.S. requested that Australia arrest Mr. Duggan, there is a U.S. warrant for his arrest and the U.S. could seek to have Mr. Duggan extradited, Mr. Duggan’s lawyer, Dennis Miralis, told reporters last week in Sydney after a brief court hearing. Mr. Miralis said at the time he hadn’t seen an indictment from the U.S., but that Mr. Duggan denies breaching any laws.
U.S. officials have declined to comment on Mr. Duggan’s case."
—Alastair Gale contributed to this article.
their ultimate power move is using money to buy up property in America it doesn't really matter what the country is called if they own the assets.....
