UK Working To Stop Chinese From Recruiting Its Ex-Air Force Pilots

The UK government said on Tuesday that it was making "decisive efforts" to counter Chinese recruitment of its former and serving British air force pilots to train its military troops.

While British military personnel often participate in training exercises with foreign armies, any cooperation by ex-pilots with China, which London has labelled the "number one danger" to domestic and global security, is a cause of concern.

"We are taking decisive action to prevent Chinese recruitment programmes from headhunting serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots to train People's Liberation Army soldiers," a British defence ministry spokeswoman said.

According to armed forces minister James Heappey, such collaboration "has been a concern inside the ministry of defence for years and our counter-intelligence people have been looking at it.”

"Recruiting pilots to comprehend our Air Force's capabilities is certainly a worry for us and the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence,” he added.

Heappey said that officials had been advising the pilots implicated to resign.

"We are going to make it a crime for people to go on and continue with that training after they have been given that warning," he said.

According to UK media reports, approximately 30 former pilots accepted offers of up to £240,000. Many of those hired are in their 50s and recently retired from the British Air Force.

According to reports, the practice has been ongoing since 2019 but has recently intensified.

The UK defence ministry also stated that it is "reviewing the usage of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements," adding that all serving and former personnel are subject to the Official Secrets Act, which prevents UK public officials from disclosing state secrets with foreign governments.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, denied knowledge of such hiring of British pilots.

Relations between London and Beijing have deteriorated as a result of China's crackdown in former British colony Hong Kong, disagreements over Huawei's involvement in the roll-out of Britain's 5G network and concerns about human rights and influence peddling.

Jeremy Fleming, the director of Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) espionage agency, warned last month in London that China's growing technical superiority was an "increasingly urgent concern" for Western countries, pushing them to act to safeguard their values and influence.