China is “aggressively” pursuing its program to recruit current and former Western military personnel to train the People’s Liberation Army, a joint adviser to the Five Eyes countries warned on Wednesday.
A statement from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on behalf of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership said Beijing is using private companies in South Africa and China to target potential recruits from NATO and Western countries by offering “salaries.” exorbitant.”
“The most sought-after targets to date have been military pilots” and other air force personnel, according to the Five Eyes bulletin issued by the ODNI’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), something about which the target countries have been warning for years and introduced. measures to try to counteract it.
But the bulletin says China has responded to those warnings by adapting its tactics and expanding its targets to include “technical experts with knowledge of Western military tactics, techniques and procedures.”
“The information the PLA obtains from Western military talent threatens the safety of targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and the security of the United States and its allies,” the bulletin states.
When asked about the bulletin and what the U.S. military is doing to discourage service members from accepting Chinese recruiting offers, Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the issue is being taken seriously.
“I think also loyalty to your country is certainly (something) that we always impart to our service members,” he said with a laugh.
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The warning from the Five Eyes countries (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) says that China has also tried to recruit former pilots from Germany, France and other Western nations.
The bulletin warns that “nefarious recruitment attempts are not always obvious,” as companies will hide their ties to the PLA.
Potential recruits may be contacted directly by headhunters or their own personal military acquaintances, or indirectly through professional networking sites and online employment platforms, according to the notice.
“The work locations may be in China, South Africa or elsewhere, with lucrative contracts and the opportunity to fly exotic aircraft, with vague details about the end customers,” he says of the offers being presented.
The bulletin urges anyone who has been targeted for recruitment, or knows someone who has been targeted, to contact the US military and the FBI, as well as their country’s military counterintelligence unit.
Canadians are urged to contact the Canadian Forces National Counterintelligence Unit and CSIS.
“Today’s joint bulletin from FVEY (Five Eyes) partners seeks to highlight this persistent threat and deter any current or former Western service members from actions that put their military colleagues at risk and erode our national security,” said the NCSC director Michael C. Casey in Wednesday’s statement.
Warnings about Chinese military recruitment tactics date back to at least 2022, when the BBC reported that dozens of former British military pilots had been recruited to train members of the PLA. The pilots were offered “lucrative” packages of up to $350,000, according to the report.
Although Canada was not mentioned, the Daily Mail reported that Canadians were also being approached for those training jobs.
The RCMP confirmed to Global News last September that it was investigating the report and whether former Royal Canadian Air Force pilots were providing information to Beijing, but declined to comment further.
Global News has reached out to the RCMP to determine if the investigation remains ongoing.
Shortly after those comments, Chief of the Defense Staff, General Wayne Eyre, and the deputy minister of national defense warned members of the Canadian Forces not to work or share information with members of the military “whose interests diverge from our own.”
“(O)ur adversaries and competitors are actively and aggressively striving to enhance their own capabilities, knowledge and expertise by leveraging Canada’s experiences and those of our allies,” the statement said.
“All members of the Defense Team, civilian and military, serving and retired, must be aware of this stark reality. This is real.”
The federal government’s recently introduced foreign interference legislation, Bill C-70, would update the Security of Information Act to include members of the Canadian Forces on the list of persons permanently bound by secrecy. That would restrict who current and former Canadian military personnel can train with or share information with.
It would also amend the law’s definition of “special operational information” that cannot be shared to include “the military vulnerabilities or advantages of the Canadian Forces.”
A person found guilty of sharing special operational information under the law could receive a prison sentence of up to 14 years. Those convicted of a summary conviction offense can be punished by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
However, anyone who communicates that information to a foreign entity or terrorist group could face life in prison.
The Five Eyes newsletter says allied countries have also imposed trade restrictions on the Test Flight Academy of South Africa (TFASA), Beijing China Aviation Technology Co. (BCAT), Stratos “and other PLA suppliers that exploit Western personnel and of NATO.”
CSIS has also warned that China is working to recruit Canadians who work in “strategic sectors or have high-value credentials” to share information with Beijing by posing as human resources recruiters or security consultants.
– with files from Global’s Aaron D’Andrea and Nathaniel Dove
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
