Australian officials have taken an ex-US military pilot and flight instructor into custody, who is currently waiting for an extradition request from his home country, authorities said. However, the charges against the pilot, who operated an aviation consultancy in China, are yet to be disclosed.

The American pilot to have been taken into custody has been identified as Daniel Edmund Duggan, who has revealed that he is a former major of the US Marine Corps. Duggan was remanded into custody by the Orange Local Court, New South Wales, Australia, on Friday, October 21.

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The pilot was arrested “pursuant to a request from the United States,” a statement issued by the Australian Federal Police said.

“As the matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment further,” the statements by the police as well as the Attorney-General’s Department read.

The arrest of Duggan has been one of the most followed news by Americans in the last week. Following his arrest, Australian defense minister Richard Marles ordered the department to launch a probe into whether any ex-Australian defense personnel were hired by the Chinese air force or not.

The order of Marles was followed by a report that revealed that as many as 30 former British military pilots were appointed by the Chinese air force for training the country’s pilots.

“I would be deeply shocked and disturbed to hear that there were personnel who were being lured by a paycheck from a foreign state above serving their own country,” a statement issued by the Australian defense minister read.

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Tensions between the United States and China have reached a new high in 2022 with the ongoing Ukraine war and the unrest regarding Taiwan. Both US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have found themselves on opposing sides amidst growing tensions between the two countries.

After the report which revealed that British pilots were hired by China to train their pilots, the UK defence Ministry has stated that it will be taking decisive action to stop more such incidents.

Duggan’s next court appearance is on November 4, when he can once again apply for bail.