Australia Approves Extradition, Former US Marine Trains China's Military Pilot Threatened To Be Invaded For 60 Years

Illustration of fighter jet pilots. (Pexels-Nicolas Petremann)

JAKARTA - Australia plans to carry out an extradition process against former US Marine Corps (US) pilot Daniel Duggan who was involved in an illegal Chinese pilot training case.

Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved Duggan's extradition from Australia to the US today, Monday, December 23. However, regarding the exact date of extradition, it is still not mentioned.

This decision also ended the 55-year-old Boston-born man's nearly 2-year-old wish to return to the US.

"Duggan was given the opportunity to give a statement about why he did not want to be submitted to the United States. In making the decision, I consider all the material in front of me," Dreyfus said in a statement, Monday, December 23, quoted from AP.

Duggan, the father of six children who served in the Marines for 12 years before moving to Australia, has released his US citizenship.

He is serving a maximum prison sentence in a security prison since his arrest in 2022 at his family home in the state of New South Wales.

Based on the 2016 indictment in the US District Court file, Washington, DC, which was opened to the public at the end of 2022, it was written by the public prosecutor accusing Duggan of conspiring with others to provide training to Chinese military pilots in 2010 and 2012. Even the training took place at certain times, without obtaining a suitable license.

Prosecutors said, for his training, Duggan received payments of around $88,000. He also received international travel compensation from other conspirators for what is sometimes described as "personal development training".

If found guilty in a US court, Duggan faces a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.

But so far, he has denied the allegations. "We feel neglected by the Australian government and very disappointed that they have failed completely in their duty to protect the Australian family," Duggan's wife, Saffrine Duggan, said in a statement today. "We are now considering other options," he continued.

There is only one final hope that the extradition of Duggan will not be realized so that he can stay in Australia, namely filing an appeal to the attorney general.