• Daniel Duggan US fighter pilot arrested in Australia over China training allegations.
• Duggan is accused of teaching Chinese pilots how to land on aircraft carriers.
• The final decision to surrender Duggan would be made by the attorney-general after the court decides.

Former US fighter pilot Daniel Duggan arrested in Australia over China training allegations ‘singled out,’ lawyer says.

The extradition request from Washington for Duggan was accepted by Australia’s attorney general last month. He is still being held in custody in Sydney, and his subsequent court appearance is scheduled for February 13.

According to a 2017 indictment that was unsealed in December, Duggan is accused of teaching Chinese pilots how to land on aircraft carriers and is also suspected of money laundering and violating US arms control regulations.

He was arrested the same week that Britain announced a crackdown on former military pilots training Chinese fliers.

According to Duggan’s attorney Dennis Miralis, Duggan “contests and denies” also stated that Duggan intended to challenge the extradition request.

He told reporters, “He has, in our opinion, been picked out in circumstances.

The Department of Defence has recognized that it has known of many Australian residents who have done foreign services in other jurisdictions with foreign states of a military kind.

The office of the defence minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australia has initiated an investigation into the obligations of former Defense Force personnel to secure national secrets.

Duggan was arrested in rural Australia in October after returning from China, where he had lived since 2014.

He got an Australian citizen after serving in the Marines for 12 years and then relinquished his US citizenship.

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