The UK government said on Tuesday it was taking "decisive steps" to stop China from luring former and serving British pilots to train People's Liberation Army (PLA) military personnel.

British broadcasters Sky News and the BBC reported that up 30 former pilots are thought to have gone on train PLA pilots.

"There is no secret in their attempt to gain access to our secrets, and their recruitment of our pilots in order to understand the capabilities of our air force is clearly a concern to us," Armed forces minister James Heappey told Sky.

He added the pilots involved have been warned to quit.

China denies employing British pilots

According to reports, attempts to headhunt pilots have been going on since 2019, but have been stepped up recently.

It is a lucrative business for pilots who are said the be offered salaries upwards of £240,000 ($272,000).

According to the BBC, the pilots have experience on fast jets and helicopters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin denied having any knowledge of Chinese recruitment of British pilots. 

UK to make it illegal for pilots to train PLA

Although pilots are not currently prohibited by law to carry out training, the Ministry of Defense is moving to make it an offense. 

"We are going to put into law that once people have been given that warning, it would become an offense to then go forward and continue with that training," Heappey said.

"The new National Security Bill will create additional tools to tackle contemporary security challenge, including this one," a spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense said.

In the meantime, the UK's defense ministry was "reviewing the use of confidentiality contracts and non-disclosure agreements", adding that all serving and former personnel are subject to the Official Secrets Act.

The law prohibits UK public servants from sharing state secrets with foreign powers.

lo/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters)