Australian citizen and former US Marine pilot Daniel Duggan, who was arrested earlier this year in New South Wales, is accused of breaking American arms control law by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, according to an indictment unsealed by a US court.
The 2017 indictment, released last Friday by the District of Columbia court, said “Duggan provided military training to PRC People’s Republic of China) pilots” through a South African flight school on three occasions in 2010 and 2012.
It lists unnamed co-conspirators including one South African and one British national who were executives of “a test flying academy based in South Africa with a presence in the PRC,” and a Chinese national who acquired military information for the Chinese military.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles announced last month an urgent inquiry to stop former ADF personnel from being headhunted by China.
Britain also said it was cracking down on its former military pilots working to train Chinese military fliers.
Australian police provisionally arrested Duggan in the regional city of Orange in NSW at the request of the US government in October, pending a likely extradition request by the US.