The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MOD) has discovered that the Chinese military force is headhunting ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots for their skills and expertise. The U.K. government is now working to stop it.
"We are taking decisive steps to stop Chinese recruitment schemes attempting to headhunt active-duty and former RAF pilots to train People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel in the People's Republic of China," a MOD spokesperson told CNBC in a statement on Oct. 18.
According to a report by BBC News, around 30 former military pilots are thought to have gone to train members of China's PLA Air Force.
"It is a lucrative package that is being offered to people," said one Western official, adding that "money is a strong motivator." Some of the packages are thought to be as much as £237,911 ($270,000).
The MOD has assured that all serving and former personnel are already subject to the Official Secrets Act and they are now reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements.
"The new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges – including this one," the spokesperson added.
The former British aviators may be used to help understand the way in which Western planes and pilots operate, which could contribute to China's strategies in the event of any conflict, such as the one against Taiwan.
"They are a very attractive body of people to then pass on that knowledge," another Western official said. "It's taking Western pilots of great experience to help develop Chinese military air force tactics and capabilities."
Meanwhile, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the U.K. "must change the law" to ensure pilots will not pass on intelligence to China in the future.
"It certainly doesn't match my understanding of service of our nation – even in retirement – to then go and work with a foreign power, especially one that challenges the U.K. interest so keenly," Heappey told BBC Radio.
China will not hesitate to grab Taiwan by force
In its attempt to "reunify" with Taiwan, communist China could have been sourcing out more "intelligent forces," especially from the British military. Analysts have observed that China's show of power over Taiwan was via air strikes, which commenced after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island nation.
Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that he will not hesitate to use force to retake Taiwan during his opening speech at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Xi also slammed the U.S. government and other Western forces for interfering in China's reunification efforts with Taiwan.
"We have resolutely waged a major struggle against separatism and interference, demonstrating our strong determination and ability to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and oppose Taiwan independence," he said.
The Chinese leader emphasized that China will "never commit to abandoning the use of force" in its unification with Taiwan, which he called inevitable. China will accelerate putting up a world-class military and strengthen its ability to build a strategic deterrent capability, Xi announced. It was received with a warm round of applause by the CCP Congress delegates. (Related: China will not hesitate to use FORCE to retake Taiwan, warns Xi.)
Xi is expected to win a third term during the event, which would cement his place as the country's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong, the CCP chairman from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976.
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Watch the following video that talks about Taiwan's response to Xi's 20th Congress speech.
This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.
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