Detained ex-Marine faces Australian court

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A former United States fighter pilot detained in Australia under a shroud of secrecy will face court on Friday, with a fellow ex-Marine telling AFP the retired instructor trained flight crew in China before his arrest.

Daniel Edmund Duggan was arrested in rural New South Wales on 21 October, Australia's attorney general's department has confirmed, the same week British intelligence officials issued a rare warning about China's recruitment of retired military pilots.

The attorney general's department said Duggan, 54, had been arrested at Washington's request — although both US and Australian authorities have declined to comment further and details of the charges have been sealed.

Duggan now faces extradition to the US and is scheduled to appear in Sydney Local Court on Friday, according to court listings.

An ex-Marine pilot who has known Duggan for almost 20 years told AFP it was well known Chinese companies had been recruiting military fliers — and he struggled to comprehend why Duggan would now be targeted for arrest.

"I can't imagine what secrets he would have, that he would pass along, that would have caused him this much trouble," the ex-Marine, who requested anonymity because he still worked for a commercial airline, said.

"I think the China work was pretty well known by most ex-military pilots. I would have first heard about it well over 10 years ago… it's just that it's recently made the news."