China attracts British fighter pilots, are the Dutch also sensitive?

• Roberto Chesal

  publisher abroad

China recruits former British Air Force pilots to train their own fighter pilots, the BBC reported this morning. The surprise for this is great among Western soldiers, politicians and experts. The first parliamentary questions have already been asked in the Netherlands.

As far as is known, thirty British pilots have gone to China, where they train fighter pilots on what to expect when fighting British pilots, but also American and Dutch pilots. A Dutch air force officer is very worried about this. “With this we lose part of our tactical and technical advantage.”

“This is a startling and disturbing announcement,” he says Patrizio Bolder, Lieutenant Colonel Retd of the Dutch Air Force. He has been in service for nearly forty years and has never heard of Dutch pilots or other Western pilots attracted to China. He thinks he’s a weak point. “If you are on duty you are warned to be careful. You are screened for your contacts with countries like China and Russia. But after your service you are no longer under that regime.”

The recruitment of British pilots cannot be separated from China’s advances in modernizing and upgrading its armed forces. With huge expenses, Beijing expands military hardware, for example, with the new one aircraft carrier. Furthermore, training is absolutely necessary, because the West is far ahead in terms of combat experience.

“Fighter pilots from the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and the United States have similar training,” says Bolder. “They all take EUR–Training for NATO joint jet pilots and hold joint Nevada Red Flag exercises annually, embodying the fighter jet doctrine. Each year they learn new techniques and tactics. If such a pilot starts training pilots in China, you lose some of your advantage. “

Bolder immediately refers to the tense situation around Taiwan, where China has shown its military muscle lately. “If the Chinese pilots attack there and already know in advance how their opponents will react, the Americans and Taiwanese lose the element of surprise. This is often the most important thing: that you can mislead your opponent.”

In response to the BBC publication, D66 asked parliamentary questions:

Vice Admiral Ben Bekkering of the Royal Netherlands Navy was also surprised by China’s recruiting practices. “I didn’t expect this. I know that China is working hard to acquire high quality technical and military knowledge from the West. But that they lure old military personnel away with the money and that people are guided by it, I am amazed. “

“The British often go to work abroad after their military career,” says Bekkering. “But they do it in countries like Oman, and not immediately for a strategic competitor. In the Netherlands, I know from my military service that these kinds of practices are discussed on a collegiate level, but there is no list of countries where you can” go to.” to work.”

Despite all the alarming rumors, it’s not immediately the case that Dutch fighter pilots with a lucrative offer are easily lured into China, expects Bas Rietjens, a specially appointed professor of Intelligence in War and Conflict at Leiden University. “A Dutch F-16 pilot earns a good salary and then receives a substantial pension, so I don’t see that will happen anytime soon.”

An Air Force earned on average 5,837 gross per month, or 75,648 on an annual basis. Chinese rewards for attracted British flyers were close to € 270,000, according to the BBC.

But some Dutch pilots don’t stay with the Defense organization until their retirement, and that’s where a vulnerability lies, says Air Force officer Bolder. “£ 240,000 is a lot of money, more than you make as a commercial pilot. If you stop working as a fighter pilot at the age of 40, you have to wait until you are sixty to get your pension. In the meantime, you could be working for. KLM or another airline, “But that market is stuck because of the crown. And then the Chinese make an interesting offer. And if you still have to pay off your children’s mortgage and education, it can be tempting. “

Bolder points out that there is no legal obstacle for former soldiers against working for China. “What’s holding you back, apart from maximum patriotism?”