Australian authorities have arrested a former Marine Corps pilot and owner of an aviation consultancy in China and are holding him under special bail conditions at the request of the U.S. government. The Australian Broadcasting Company is reporting that Daniel Edmund Duggan was taken into custody by Australian Federal Police last Friday just as reports broke about Western pilots being recruited to train People’s Liberation Army pilots in tactics and strategy in fighting potential adversaries.
According to the Eurasian Times headline, Duggan, 54, a former Harrier pilot, was helping the Chinese get their relatively new carrier aircraft force in fighting trim. There have been other reports that the emphasis for would-be instructors was on carrier ops. Last week, the U.K. announced it was giving about 30 ex-pat pilots a stern talking-to after they were apparently lured to China with $250,000 contracts through a South African company. Since then, Canada, France and Australia have said they’re investigating whether any of their former military pilots have followed suit.
Duggan is described as a former U.S. citizen but his exact status isn’t clear. Regardless, Australia’s extradition agreement with the U.S. allows the arrest and extradition of Australian citizens by the U.S. Duggan appeared in court last Friday, but the charges are sealed and he’s been held under a section of Australia’s Extradition Act that prevents his release by a judge unless “special circumstances” exist. Duggan can apply for bail at his next court appearance Nov. 4.
I never read all the fine print when I signed on, but I’m guessing there might be a few words about not helping an adversary with military strategy.
This bum wanted the money regardless of the fact that if we get into it with the Red Chinese his fellow Marines and USN pilots would be the first to suffer from his perfidy. These former military pilots from around the world are helping Enemy Number One learn how to effectively use our strategies and tactics against their own countries.
Treasonous bastards.
“It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles…” – Sun Tzu
That sounds like an old version of “Keep your friends close… and your enemies closer…”.
I certainly don’t think “Burn the witches… er.. traitors!!!” hysteria is going to help (Mario A).
~30 years ago the West was feverishly arming the Taliban to fight the Russians. And then what happened barely 10 years later?
Honestly, I think we should all just just calm down and consider that the world is full of ordinary human beings who just want to get on with their lives, have kids, make a nice home and live to a ripe old age. It’s just the politicians that go mad with their power and wealth that f*%k it up for us all, time after time after time. When are we going to learn?
Since China is the largest trading partner with the USA, granted most favored nations status in trade, is building almost all of our communications and computing systems. AND even the president’s son deals directly with their energy development, then the only conclusion is that they are allies. Heck, even Australia sold it’s natural gas rights to China.
If they are seen as an “enemy” then shouldn’t the arresting start at the top?
Quite so. On the other hand, it he was issued a “cease and desist” and didn’t comply, then all bets are off.
I realize everything is political these days but do you really believe Hunter Biden has anything to offer China or its military? The only person he is a threat to is himself.
Well, Hunter DOES seem to have a pretty strong influence with his father, our president.
In 1963 I left the RAF after 8 years engagement, on Hunter F6 in the Cold War in Germany and a rather warmer one in Arabia flying Hunter FGA9 & FR10. On leaving and thus needing a job somewhere, I was offered a role flying Hunters in the then Royal Rhodesian Air Force, which was acceptable to anyone of my background. Also offered a hugely paid place in Biafran service during the Nigerian civil war paying 10 times my RAF pay, also on Hunters, plus a substantial bonus for airborne victories. The reliability of these mysteriously obtained airplanes and their provenance was unclear, so I thanked the agency for their offer, stating that I was happy to fight for my Queen but nobody else. In the event I joined BEA/BA and flew airliners, mostly Boeings for the next 40 years.
Anything for money. Isn’t it what the government in general is doing it? Undermining Americans under the pretest of “domestic terrorism” so on and so forth? the list of outrageous actions is immense to describe here. Regular people working for the government are receiving fat paychecks every month. Democrats are the ones in power to recruit and determine what to do with “employees”. Don’t make any waves! just move alone with what we say! OK, I will do, I don’t want to loose my fat pay check anyway. I will repeat after you, the sky is purple, the ocean is white… Once in a while we see a “hero”, a whistle blower denouncing corruption in high levels of leadership. It is happening all around us right now. Complete destruction of America in vicious “sell outs” to any opportunity no matter what. Everything for money… if the top levels guys do… When a culture looses it’s values anything goes. This case is not the first. It is the first to be shown to us…
It’s almost comical how people are willing to ignore reality, logic, reason, context and even country loyalty to remain employed. Mental slavery.
Wise words, representing the very true.
Not condoning what this guy did or may have done, but it seems to me that our Congressman and Senators already sold America to China.
His problem is he has the wrong last name.
Nixon was the first to name China “most favored nation” in trade, back in the 1970s.
Look at it another way – on his return at completion of contract you’d have access to a monetarily motivated citizen with first-hand insight into “enemy” tactics, capabilities, resources, you name it.
Im sure he has a NDA with China.
How are any/all of us any different? We ALL buy our things based upon price and we ALL participated in creating jobs in China. Go look at EVERYTHING in your house and see if you can find anything you’ve personally purchased that is not made in China. We have been whoring ever since Nixon visited China.
They would serve their country better if they could teach the chinese how to do it, but the “wrong” way ie. mental sabotage.
I knew this was coming… and there are more to follow. Real bad idea to sell military tactical secrets, unless you really like federal prison life.
This is clearly concerning but is IMO a minor example of an unsustainable situation that started long ago. Off-shoring production has made plenty of supposedly patriotic people rich while they cheerfully handed over their intellectual property.
The sad thing is that most congresspeople and corporate elites playing both sides of the aisle against each other have been ransacking our country. In the meantime they keep the rest of us outraged at each other using the cheapest and easiest methods like social media. While we’re ripping each others a new one and wingeing and moaning about China, another two years go by swapping control of the helm. And they make tons of money regardless of who’s in power. If it’s not Hunter, it’s Jared but they’re all raking it in. We’re such suckers.
Selling “tactical secrets” is mentioned no where in the article.
There is nothing “secret” about flying an airplane. Energy management and documented performance is based on the laws of physics, not classified information.
If he were selling classified radar/EW/performance technology, then yes, get your panties in a wad.
Meantime, don’t shell out dollars at ChinaMart and then berate someone attempting to recoup those dollars.