The Minister Of Defense Restricted The Investigation Report On The Existence Of A Former Australian Pilot Against China's Military

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles during a press statement with the US Secretary of Defense and Japan's Minister of Defense. (Wikimedia Commons/US Secretary of Defense)

JAKARTA - Australia's defense minister said its military was investigating reports that the country's former pilot received training jobs in China, as Britain stepped out to stop recruiting its pilots for national security reasons.

The British government said on Tuesday it was taking steps to stop former British military pilots training China's armed forces, with British media reporting that South African aviation schools acted as intermediaries for the Chinese People's Liberation Army to recruit pilots.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said he had asked the Department of Defense to investigate claims that former Australian military pilots had also been recruited by South African aviation schools to work in China.

"I would be very surprised and disturbed to hear that there are personnel who are persuaded by salary checks from foreign countries, rather than serving their own country," Minister Marles said in a statement.

"I have asked the department to investigate these claims and return to my office with clear advice on the matter," he said.

Meanwhile, South Africa's company, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on whether it had hired pilots from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to work in China.

In an online undated ad with the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), TFASA said it was looking for a number of fixed wing test pilot instructors and helicopters to work on an undisclosed location in "North East Asia" with an initial contract commitment of four years.

The requirements include graduating from military test flight schools in the United States or Britain.

"I don't know who has left, but they are clearly targeting the Western/Five Eyes test pilots," an Australian-based SETP member told Reuters on condition of anonymity, referring to intelligence groups Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

"We all go to the school they registered with," he said.

TFASA also runs a flight school for Chinese airline pilots in South Africa as a joint venture with one of China's largest state-owned airlines, AVIC, according to its website.

As previously reported, the British Government issued a warning regarding China's efforts to persuade active military pilots and retired officers to train its armed forces with the lure of a large compensation package.

Strict steps will be taken by the government to stop the recruitment scheme, amid national security concerns.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) believes that currently there are up to 30 former military pilots in the country providing training in China, saying many others are being approached, including personnel who are still active, as reported by CNN.

While citing Sputnik News, the salary offered to these pilots by China is said to reach 240,000 pounds (Rp 4,187,064,043) per year.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing that the ministry was not aware of such recruitment schemes.