China Recruiting Ex-British Pilots To Train Its Army, UK Moves To Tackle 'Security Challenge': Report

According to the report, around 30 former UK military pilots are thought to have gone to train members of China's Army.

Chinese armed convoy (Source: File photo/AFP)

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing conflict between China and Taiwan, the UK government has claimed that the Chinese have targeted current serving military pilots but none of them accepted the offer, as reported by the news agency PTI.

According to the report, around 30 former UK military pilots are thought to have gone to train members of China's Army. 

According to the claim, these British pilots have been called to China for training by luring them with huge amounts. 

According to intelligence officials, the matter of calling the pilots to China has increased. Now Britain has issued a warning for its former military pilots. 

“We are taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to headhunt serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots to train People’s Liberation Army personnel in the People’s Republic of China,” an MoD spokesperson said.

“All serving and former personnel are already subject to the Official Secrets Act, and we are reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements across Defence, while the new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges - including this one,” the spokesperson said.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told 'Sky News' that the enrollment of UK pilots to prepare Chinese counterparts had been a worry inside the MoD "for a number of years".

"Don't go and train foreign air forces without checking with the MOD whether they are a foreign air force we want to see you train - would be a good rule," he said as quoted by PTI.

The retired British pilots are being used to assist with understanding the manner by which Western planes and pilots work, data which could be crucial in case of any conflict, for example, over Taiwan, the BBC reported.

"It is a lucrative package that is being offered to people. Money is a strong motivator," it quoted a Western official as saying, with some pay packages thought to be as much as USD 270,000.

The UK originally became mindful of few instances of previous military pilots being enrolled in 2019, which were dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The Coronavirus pandemic slowed attempts down when travel to China was beyond difficult however the attempts have now expanded, leading to an alert.

"We've seen it ramp up significantly. It is an ongoing issue," the official said in a briefing.

The pilots have insight on quick planes and helicopters and come from across the military and in addition to the RAF. They have flown Typhoons, Jaguars, Harriers and Tornados. F-35 pilots are not remembered to be involved in spite of the fact that China is believed to be keen on them.

(With PTI Inputs)