Former U.S. Marine Pilot Accused of Training Chinese Military Pilots Linked to Chinese Hacker
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A former U.S. Marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is currently fighting extradition from Australia to the U.S. on charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. However, his lawyer revealed that Duggan unknowingly worked with a Chinese hacker, adding a new twist to the case.
Duggan, a naturalized Australian citizen, has been in an Australian maximum security prison since his arrest in 2022 after returning from six years working in Beijing. The lawyer’s filing supports Reuters reporting linking Duggan to convicted Chinese defense hacker Su Bin.
According to Duggan’s lawyer, U.S. authorities found correspondence with Duggan on electronic devices seized from Su Bin. The case will be heard in a Sydney court this month, two years after his arrest in rural Australia.
Su Bin, who was arrested in Canada in 2014, pleaded guilty in 2016 to theft of U.S. military aircraft designs by hacking major U.S. defense contractors. Duggan denies the allegations of breaking U.S. arms control laws and claims that the hacking case is “totally unrelated” to him.
Despite the accusations, Duggan’s lawyers oppose extradition, arguing that there is no evidence the Chinese pilots he trained were military and that he became an Australian citizen before the alleged offenses. The United States government, however, claims that Duggan did not lose his U.S. citizenship until 2016.
The case has drawn attention due to its international implications and the complex web of connections between Duggan, Su Bin, and the Chinese military. The outcome of the extradition hearing will be closely watched by legal experts and government officials alike.