FVEY and NATO members have previously raised concerns about Chinese efforts to recruit their former military pilots.
The intelligence communities of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom published a joint bulletin on June 5, warning that China is continuing its efforts to recruit current and former Western military officials to advance its military power.
The joint bulletin states the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is actively using private companies in South Africa and China as avenues to recruit former Western military officials, and former fighter pilots in particular, to train PLA Air Force and Navy aviators. The bulletin warns that this recruiting effort has focused on former fighter pilots from Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and other Western nations. “The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures,” the bulletin warns. “The insight the PLA gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and U.S. and allied security.”
The United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom together comprise the five major English-speaking countries of the world. These five English-speaking countries together form a mutual intelligence alliance dubbed “Five Eyes” or FVEY, which pools some of its intelligence-gathering resources for their mutual interests.
“Today’s joint bulletin by FVEY partners seeks to highlight this persistent threat and deter any current or former Western service members from actions that put their military colleagues at risk and erode our national security,” said Michael C. Casey, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) for the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Allies See Persistent PLA Recruiting Efforts
FVEY and NATO members have previously raised concerns about Chinese efforts to recruit their former military pilots.
Reports began to circulate in October 2022 that the UK’s Ministry of Defense suspected that China had attempted to recruit around 30 of its former jet and helicopter pilots. Days later, reports broke that the United States suspected retired U.S. Marine Daniel Duggan—who previously piloted the AV-8 Harrier vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) ground-attack jet—had been working to train Chinese military pilots. The U.S. government is currently seeking to extradite Mr. Duggan from Australia, to face prosecution in the United States.
By Ryan Morgan
