Australia is investigating reports that former defense force personnel have been approached to provide military training to China. Defense Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday that retired former soldiers had an "enduring obligation" to protect state secrets and "to reveal any of those secrets is a crime."
Marles said there would be a "detailed examination" into claims that China had approached Australian military veterans for training. The probe will also involve other security agencies.
The defense minister would not confirm if any Australians had provided training to Beijing, but he did say that "a number of cases" were currently being investigated. He told reporters in Canberra Wednesday that the government would change the law if there were any "weaknesses" in rules that apply to former defense personnel.
Australian officials have said they had concerns before allegations of Chinese recruitment of former soldiers became the subject of media reporting last month.
Marles said veterans have a responsibility to protect sensitive military or other information from foreign powers, and that "For those who do come into possession of our nation’s secrets there is an enduring obligation to maintain those secrets for as long as they are secrets and to breach that obligation is a very serious crime."
Australia's center-right opposition leader Peter Dutton said previously that the reports of China’s attempts to recruit former soldiers were "alarming" and he challenged the Labor government in Canberra to bring in new laws to prevent the activity.
The formal review into alleged Chinese recruitment is due to report back to the defense minister by December 14.
Last month, Britain's Ministry of Defense said it was taking immediate steps to "deter and penalize" dozens of former Royal Air Force pilots who were being paid as instructors in China.
In a statement issued in October, British defense officials warned that the practice "erodes the UK's defense advantage."
New Zealand's defense minister has also requested advice on whether new laws were needed to stop former military pilots training pilots of foreign militaries, according to a spokeswoman from the prime minister's office.
