Probe into ex-ADF personnel ‘sharing nation’s secrets’

Defence Minister reveals joint task force amid concerns Australian and other allied pilots may have taken contracts to train Chinese military personnel.

The federal government has ordered an urgent review into the rules around the sharing of classified information by former ADF personnel, as Defence supports a joint Australian Federal Police-ASIO probe into alleged approaches of retired RAAF pilots to train Chinese military aviators.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday that he had asked Defence to assess if there were any weaknesses in the policies and procedures that applied to former Defence personnel who had knowledge “of our nation’s secrets”.

Mr Marles said there was a “clear and unambiguous” obligation on former ADF personnel to protect classified information.

“It’s no secret that Defence activities, people and assets are targets for foreign intelligence services,” he said. “But let me be clear: Australians who work or have worked for the government in any capacity, particularly our ADF, who come into possession of the nation's secrets, have an obligation to maintain those secrets beyond their employment with, or their engagement with, the commonwealth. This is an enduring obligation and to reveal any of those secrets is a crime.”

Mr Marles said it was important Defence had the most robust framework possible to protect classified information.

The move follows reports out of the UK last month that Australian aviators were among about 30 allied nation pilots approached through a South African flight school offering $500,000 contracts to train Chinese military personnel to fly Western Typhoon, Jaguar, Harrier and Tornado aircraft.

A former US fighter pilot who is now an Australian citizen was arrested two days later in NSW at the request of US authorities.

Ex-marine Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was said to be a “well-regarded” fighter jet pilot who had reportedly worked in China in recent months training commercial flight crews.

Mr Marles said he asked his department to “urgently investigate” after learning of the alleged Chinese approaches.

“The information provided to me so far presents enough evidence to warrant the need for a detailed examination into the adequacy of current Defence policies and procedures addressing this matter,” he said. “It’s no secret that Defence activities, people and assets are targets for foreign intelligence services.”

Defence’s deputy secretary for security and estate, Celia Perkins, told a Senate estimates hearing that the department was aware “that former ADF personnel may have been approached to provide military-related training services” in China. She said Defence was working closely with ASIO and the AFP to support their investigation into the matter, and was separately examining the adequacy of current rules governing post-ADF employment that was not in Australia’s interests.

Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Robert Chipman, told Defence estimates that the training RAAF pilots undertook included the provision of sensitive information “that they are obligated to protect” during and after service.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, a former SAS captain, said reported approaches of Australian pilots were “deeply concerning”, and the Coalition backed the government’s actions.

“Our national military secrets – including tactics, techniques and procedures for our elite fighter pilots – must be safeguarded by serving Defence members and our veterans. They are not for sale to another country,” he said.

The British pilots were used by China to help its pilots learn how Western planes and pilots operated, Western officials said. “They are a very attractive body of people to then pass on that knowledge,” one told the BBC.