Retired pilots from Germany are training Chinese Air Force pilots these days. During this, these German pilots also shared secret information about NATO with China in exchange for money. After this revelation, there has been a stir from Europe to America. China and Russia see NATO as the biggest enemy after America.
For this reason, China is gathering intelligence related to NATO in every situation. Germany has officially held several military training programs with China in the past. During this time, armies commonly share technical and strategic experiences, but China’s ambition regarding Europe is not hidden. This is why many European and NATO countries, including Germany, have kept their distance from China.
German Defense Minister Talked To China
According to German media Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF, some of the German Air Force’s retired pilots have gone to China on lucrative private training contracts. These pilots are sharing secret information related to NATO with China.
After this revelation, anger is seen in Germany about China. This was revealed when German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited China to participate in the high-level defence summit Shangri La Dialogue. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu also participated in this. Then the German Defense Minister urged his Chinese counterpart to stop such practices immediately.
Germany Investigating Relations With China
Just a few days before this revelation, at the behest of the US, Germany started re-evaluating its economic and strategic relations with China, the country with the world’s second-largest economy and growing military power.
Marcus Faber, a member of Germany’s parliamentary defence committee and MP, said the defence ministry should do everything possible to end the practice. He said there was an urgent need to tighten rules for people accessing security information because of their work for Germany.
German Defense Ministry Issued A Statement
A Germany’s Defense Ministry spokesman claimed no clear case was against these former pilots for sharing government secrets. According to German law, retired military personnel and other government employees are largely free to use their expertise. However, they are required by military regulations to report their work and maintain confidentiality about matters they learn of while on the job. The ministry said it is seriously examining the matter of conflict of interest.
