Ex-Pilots Aiding Beijing Concerns U.S. Allies

"Ex-Pilots Aiding Beijing Concerns U.S. Allies as a danger to Western military.

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 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. The U.K. Defense Ministry in October 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. 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 on Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry said 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.

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." [1]

1. World News: Ex-Pilots Aiding Beijing Concerns U.S. Allies
Cherney, Mike. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 10 Nov 2022: A.20.