US, Allies Claim China Recruiting Western Fighter Pilots

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Facts

  • In a joint bulletin on Wednesday, the US and its peers in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance warned that China is 'aggressively' recruiting current and former Western military personnel to train its air force pilots and naval aviators.1
  • According to intelligence officials from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the US, the PRC's People's Liberation Army has recently intensified such efforts to improve its air combat capability.2
  • This rare joint bulletin — the first-ever statement on the matter from the Five Eyes — intends to raise the alarm for retired pilots so they don't fall for lucrative job offers 'with vague details on the ultimate customers.'3
  • Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official said that at least five former New Zealand pilots and 30 from Britain had already been recruited, in addition to pilots from Germany and other countries.4
  • Private companies, including the Test Flying Academy of South Africa and Beijing China Aviation Technology Co., have also allegedly hired Western fighter pilots to provide training tied to the alleged PRC recruitment issue.5
  • Though it claimed it was oblivious to the issue, the Chinese embassy in Washington urged foreign authorities not to 'generalise and abuse the concept of national security and smear relevant companies.'6

Sources: 1Business Insider, 2New York Times, 3Bloomberg, 4South China Morning Post, 5The Washington Times and 6Financial Times.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. As Beijing prepares for a likely attempt to take over Taiwan, its People's Liberation Army has ramped up efforts to address a lack of pilot proficiency and technical capabilities. Western-trained service members must be aware that if they teach Chinese personnel, they are putting national security at risk — and likely violating the law.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Sunday Guardian Live. It's very hypocritical of the Five Eyes to urge aviators not to train Chinese pilots now that Western nations have decided to turn China into an adversary. Pilot training schools, with international customers, have operated in these five countries — as well as in many others in the West — for years.

Predictions