London

More than a decade ago Xi Jinping embarked upon a dream to make China a footballing giant. For the next few years, China became this incredible destination where famous footballers, at the fag end of their career, travelled for one last paycheque. The result? Neither did the footballing landscape of China improve, nor did Xi's dream come true. However, what did come out was a strategy of poaching talent from abroad.

Advertisment

Using a similar modus-operandi, China is now luring retired British military pilots to its shores by handing them handsome sums of money. The main aim is to use their expertise to level up the military which lacks the required experience.

"It is a lucrative package that is being offered to people. Money is a strong motivator. Some of the packages are thought to be as much as $270,000," a western official was quoted as saying by BBC. 

Read more: The United Front: China's magic weapon

Advertisment

Reportedly, China is attempting to learn the ways of the western militaries, in case a conflict with Taiwan comes to heed. Most of the pilots are being recruited through headhunters, with a flying academy based in South Africa.

WATCH | Taiwan's air force flexes its muscles | Taiwanese fear Chinese aggression

×

Advertisment

According to the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), the pilots lured by China appear to have flown Typhoons, Jaguars, Harriers and Tornados

The sources say that the British military first became aware of the issue, back in 2019 when a small batch of former military pilots was hired. After the pandemic struck, the movement was stopped as air travel became next to possible. However, since then, China has quietly ramped up its hiring process yet again. 

"We've seen it ramp up significantly. Current serving personnel are being targeted but none are thought to have accepted," said the official. 

Read more: China's Air Force decoded: How PLAAF is evolving its tactical strategy

However, the MoD maintains there is no evidence that the pilots have leaked some sensitive information to Beijing. 

"All serving and former personnel are already subject to the Official Secrets Act, and we are reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements across Defence, while the new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenges - including this one."

China is infamous for reverse engineering Western tech for its military. Similarly, its United Font workers routinely steal IPs which makes the hiring of ex-military pilots a dangerous precedent.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: