UK loses Air Force pilots to China, making Downing Street unhappy
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Following reports that China is headhunting former and serving British Airforce Pilots, the UK announces that it will take decisive steps against Beijing to halt its "recruitment schemes".
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Chinese Su-27 jets on a carrier
Following UK media reports that China was able to recruit a number of pilots of the British airforce, a spokesperson of the British Ministry of Defense stated that the UK government is "taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to headhunt serving and former UK Armed Forces pilots to train People's Liberation Army personnel."
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The Telegraph reported last Wednesday that UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is set to formally designate China as a “threat” to the UK, marking a major shift in the UK's foreign policy. A spokesperson from Downing Street later confirmed that the update is underway while adding that “Russia remains the biggest threat to the UK but China represents the most serious long-term threat to our values and way of life.”
According to the reports, China has successfully recruited, since the practice started in 2019, over 30 former pilots, most of whom are in their 50s, shortly after leaving the British airforce, offering upwards of £240,000 ($273,750).
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While British military personnel frequently take part in training exercises with foreign armies, any collusion by ex-pilots with China -- which London has dubbed the "number one threat" to domestic and global security -- poses a serious concern.
UK's crackdown on their pilots comes despite frequent exercises their personnel conduct with foreign armies, however serious concerns rose since UK is moving forward to label China as the main threat to local and global security, citing the Official Secrets Act that apparently does not apply to other countries.
"Confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements" are being reviewed by the British Defense Ministry, which stated that UK public servants, serving or former, are subject to the Official Secrets Act, which forbids them from exposing the country's secrets to foreign states.
The British Defense Ministry spokesperson also added that "the new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges – including this one."
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Chinese British relations have been in a downward spiral for several years due to UK's more aggressive policy toward Beijing, most notably on China's internal matters in HongKong and Taiwan, in addition to London's fear of China's growing dominance in technology, which was dubbed as as "increasingly urgent problem" by Jeremy Fleming, the director of the GCHQ - the UK's the intelligence, security, and cyber agency, who called on Western countries to take action to defend themselves and their values.
