Why China offered a Taiwan army pilot $15 million and ticket to Thailand

[reader]

From Firstpost

China is trying to get to Taiwan any which way possible: now, they have allegedly tried to bribe a Taiwan army pilot to steal a US-made Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, but the accused Colonel has been arrested.

The deal was worth $15 million.

As per reports, the lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh, was approached by Chinese officers who asked him to fly a CH-47F Chinook helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait.

They offered Hsieh to evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

Initially, Hsieh declined the offer, but accepted when he was offered half the cost of the helicopter, a whooping $15 million.

The defection to China was uncovered by investigators in April and Hsieh and others involved were arrested subsequently.

Continues at

https://www.firstpost.com/world/why-china-offered-a-taiwan-army-pilot-15-million-and-ticket-to-thailand-13495662.html

[t0oL1]

Sounds like Chinese needed an American airship to use in a planned invasion of the Taiwan Strait.

[PeterRS]

If China was not spying on Taiwan and attempting to do little things like stealing a helicopter would be the real surprise! All countries spy on others.

[t0oL1]

Let them steal our Ospreys for their invasion...

[t0oL1]

Gee it's not that a Chinook is QUIET and no one would notice a Chinook landing on a Chinese carrier in the middle of the Taiwan strait. WTF?

[PeterRS]

58 minutes ago, t0oL1 said:

Gee it's not that a Chinook is QUIET and no one would notice a Chinook landing on a Chinese carrier in the middle of the Taiwan strait. WTF?

I read in one of the many reports that the pilot had refused to fly the helicopter into the Taiwan Strait. If the planned destination was in fact an aircraft carrier sailing through the Strait, the route hugging the coast northwest of Taipei is relatively unpopulated and northeast virtually unihabited due to large cliffs. So apart from the city of Keelung, such a flight might not have aroused much suspicion from the land. But there are many aircraft landing and taking off from both the international airport at Taoyuan and Songshan city airport in Taipei making navigation of an illegal flight far more likely to be spotted since virtually all the commercial aircraft will be a relatively low altitudes. According to the report, the pilot had discusssed changing the departure point to Kaohsiung in the south and arrival on a carrier not far away where there would be far less chance of its being spotted. But who knows? Stranger things have happened.