The Australian government launched an investigation into reports that China has been hiring retired Western air force pilots to train its military.
As Britain warned that it might take legal action to prevent its pilots from being similarly recruited on national security grounds, Australia's defense minister stated that the military was looking into claims that some of its former pilots were accepting training posts in China.
The Chinese government was reportedly trying to recruit active-duty and retired British military pilots to teach their armed forces, but the British government claimed it was taking action to avoid this. Up to 30 former military pilots reportedly went to China to train in the People's Liberation Army.
After British media revealed that more than 30 former pilots had accepted offers of more than £240,000 ($273,750) to train China's air force, the U.K. government declared it would take "decisive steps" to prevent Beijing from headhunting former pilots.
Former Australian military pilots allegedly were also recruited to join a South African flight school that operated in China, according to Australia's Minister of Defense Richard Marles, who claimed he had instructed the defense department to look into the claims.
"I would be deeply shocked and disturbed to hear that there were personnel who were being lured by a paycheck from a foreign state above serving their own country," Marles said. "I have asked the department to investigate these claims and come back to my office with clear advice on this matter."
The British Ministry of Defense stated on Twitter that the participating pilots had been warned they ran the danger of legal action under the Official Secrets Act and that a national security bill would open up further avenues for legal action. When asked if it had employed Australian pilots to work in China, the South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) did not react right away.
TFASA stated that it was looking for a number of fixed-wing and helicopter test pilot instructors to work at an unspecified location in "Far East Asia" with an initial contract commitment of four years in an undated advertisement with the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), which was made available online.
It was necessary to have completed military test flight courses in the United States or Great Britain. One based in Australia who couldn't recall the exact date claimed that the advertisement was issued to all SETP members.
Marles started the probe from Tonga, where he was attending a gathering of defense ministers from South Pacific countries. As China increases its presence in the Pacific, Australia and the United States have been rushing to strengthen diplomatic ties.
