Australian Citizen with Military Background Arrested in Alleged Connection with Chinese Hacker, Lawyer Claims
An Australian citizen with a military background, Daniel Duggan, has been arrested in Australia amid claims of unknowingly working with a Chinese hacker. His lawyer suggests that concerns about requests from Western intelligence agencies for sensitive information jeopardized his family's safety.
A former US Marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is currently fighting extradition from Australia to the US. He is facing charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. According to his lawyer, Duggan unknowingly worked with a Chinese hacker during this time.
Duggan, who is 55 years old and a naturalized Australian citizen, expressed concerns that requests from Western intelligence agencies for sensitive information were putting his family at risk. This information was revealed in a legal filing that was seen by Reuters.
The lawyer for Duggan backs up Reuters' report connecting him to convicted Chinese defense hacker Su Bin. Duggan, however, refutes the claims of violating US arms control laws. He has been held in an Australian maximum security prison since his arrest in 2022 following his return from six years of work in Beijing.
US authorities discovered communication between Duggan and Su Bin on electronic devices taken from Su Bin. Duggan's lawyer, Bernard Collaery, mentioned this in a submission to Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus in March. Dreyfus will make a decision on whether to hand Duggan over to the US after a magistrate presides over Duggan's extradition case.
The case is scheduled to be heard in a Sydney court later this month. This comes two years after Duggan was arrested in rural Australia, at a time when Britain was cautioning its former military pilots against working for China.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock (13068679e) (220804) - NANJING, Aug. 4, 2022 (Xinhua) - The air force and naval aviation corps of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) fly warplanes to conduct operations around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 4, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command on Thursday conducted joint combat exercises and training around the Taiwan Island on an approximate scale. China Pla the Eastern Theater Command Drills - 04 Aug 2022
The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted joint combat exercises and training around the Taiwan Island on a large scale. On August 4, 2022, the air force and naval aviation corps flew warplanes to carry out operations in the region. This demonstrates the military readiness and capabilities of the PLA in the Eastern Theater Command.
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Su Bin, who was arrested in Canada in 2014 and pleaded guilty in 2016 to stealing US military aircraft designs by hacking major US defense contractors, is among seven co-conspirators listed in the extradition request with Duggan.
Duggan's lawyer, Collaery, stated that Su Bin was known to Duggan as an employment broker for the Chinese state aviation company AVIC. The lawyer emphasized that the hacking case was "totally unrelated to our client."
Collaery also mentioned that while Su Bin "may have had improper connections to Chinese agents, this was unknown to our client."
‘Overt intelligence contact’
AVIC was blacklisted by the US last year as a Chinese military-linked company.
Su Bin's electronic messages revealed that he funded Duggan's trip from Australia to Beijing in May 2012, as stated in the extradition documents submitted by the United States to the Australian court.
According to Collaery, Duggan requested Su Bin's assistance in obtaining Chinese aircraft parts for his Top Gun tourist flight company in Australia.
The lawyer representing Duggan mentioned that ASIO and US Navy investigators discovered that he was providing pilot training for AVIC during their meetings with him in Tasmania, Australia, in December 2012 and February 2013.
Former Marine pilot Daniel Duggan is fighting extradition to the United States from Australia
Former Marine pilot Daniel Duggan is fighting extradition to the United States from Australia
Courtesy Saffrine Duggan
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Ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots fights extradition to the US
ASIO and the US Navy Criminal Investigation Service did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the meetings. ASIO has previously said it would not comment as the matter was before the court.
His lawyer mentioned that during his legitimate business activities in China, an ASIO officer indicated that Mr. Duggan could potentially gather sensitive information.
Duggan moved to China in 2013 and his lawyer mentioned that he was not allowed to leave the country in 2014. According to Duggan's LinkedIn profile and aviation sources, he worked as an aviation consultant in China during 2013 and 2014.
In 2016, at the US embassy in Beijing, Duggan renounced his US citizenship. His lawyer stated that the renouncement was backdated to 2012 on a certificate. This decision was made due to concerns about his family's safety after he had "overt intelligence contact by US authorities."
His lawyers are against the extradition because they believe there is no proof that the Chinese pilots he trained were part of the military. They also argue that he became an Australian citizen in January 2012, before the alleged offenses.
The United States government has stated that Duggan did not lose his US citizenship until 2016.
Editor's P/S:
The case of Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine pilot facing extradition to the US for allegedly training Chinese military pilots, raises concerns about the complexities of dual citizenship and national security. Duggan, who became an Australian citizen before the alleged offenses, highlights the challenges of reconciling loyalties and legal obligations across borders. His concerns about his family's safety and the potential risks of providing sensitive information to Western intelligence agencies further underscore the complexities of international espionage and the balancing act between protecting national interests and respecting individual rights.
The involvement of a convicted Chinese defense hacker, Su Bin, adds another layer of intrigue to the case. While Duggan's lawyer maintains that his connection to Su Bin was limited to an employment brokerage, the extradition documents suggest a more substantial involvement. The fact that Su Bin funded Duggan's trip to Beijing and provided him with Chinese aircraft parts raises questions about Duggan's knowledge and intentions. The upcoming extradition hearing will shed light on these allegations and determine Duggan's fate, highlighting the delicate balance between international cooperation and protecting individual rights in the face of national security concerns.
