UNITED STATES New US sanctions against companies that train Chinese military pilots

Washington announced measures against Chinese and foreign companies for training military pilots and contributing to weapons development. Recruiting military retirees from NATO countries is a practice that has been around for more than a decade. On the eve of Secretary of State Blinken’s trip to Beijing on June 18, the White House expressed concern about the spy base in Cuba.

Beijing () – The United States has imposed new sanctions on companies that Washington says are collaborating with China in the training of military pilots and in the research and development of new weapons. The administration of US Democratic President Joe Biden has published a list of 43 names from China and other foreign countries that will be added to the list of those already subject to export controls, such as a pilot school in South Africa. Companies included in the sanctioned list have limits and restrictions on the purchase of goods exported by the United States for activities that are considered contrary to the national interest of that country.

On the list is, for example, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa, a pilot school. The center has long been in the crosshairs of the London government because it has on several occasions recruited retired British military pilots to give training sessions to their Chinese military colleagues. Analysts and experts believe that Beijing’s recruitment of NATO pilots began more than a decade ago and has continued over time.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius met with his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, earlier this month and on that occasion called on Beijing to suspend the practice, specifically as it relates to the recruitment of retired German army pilots. On the other hand, the Berlin intelligence agency affirms that the retired pilots would also be in charge of transmitting military skills and tactics that could be useful to China to attack Taiwan.

Britain’s Defense Ministry found that 30 military experts, including some who have flown sophisticated fighter jets, had been hired to train Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) colleagues, often at lucrative pay. The London authorities consider this practice a threat to national security and have intensified collaboration with allies to prevent China’s plans.

It is in this context that one understands the news of the arrest of former US fighter pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan, detained in Australia for having trained some Chinese military pilots last year. Duggan was also accused by the United States of imparting knowledge on the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier, in violation of arms trafficking laws.

The list also includes an aviation and security company, Frontier Services Group, formerly run by Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

Some Chinese entities are on the list for purchasing raw materials from the United States for China’s military modernization, such as the development of hypersonic weapons. Two Chinese companies have been sanctioned for allegedly supplying the Beijing government with technology to monitor Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang. In this sense, the Chinese government denies the accusation of systematic violation of human rights and the creation of re-education camps in Xinjiang, a denial that clashes with the numerous evidence provided in this regard by international NGOs and activist groups.

Beijing criticized the sanctions imposed by the United States and the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, urged “to stop abusing export control measures.” On Sunday, June 18, the visit of the US Secretary of State to the Chinese capital is expected.

For its part, the White House has expressed its concern about the Chinese espionage base in Cuba, which was announced precisely on the eve of Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing, whose main objective is to limit the risk of confrontation between the two powers after the frictions (or confrontations) of the last months. The trip was long overdue and was postponed in February when the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon. One more piece in the complicated mosaic of relations between the two countries, which according to many experts and analysts are at the lowest level in recent years.