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December 14, 2023

ROC Espionage Case Shows Extent of PRC Courtship

$15 Million for a Chinook Defection Embarrases Defense Minister

A Taiwanese Chinook pilot's court case has lifted the cover on Chinese espionage, illustrating how a Lt. Col. was courted into flying his CH-47 Chinook onto a waiting PRC aircraft carrier. The price for the scheme, about $6,355 per month, initially failed to entice Lt. Col. Hsieh, until the Chinese agents upped the ante to a cool $15 million USD. They promised that the PRC would help evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of an inter-Chinese conflict, too. In return, Hsieh was to fly his Chinook along the coastline to a PRC aircraft carrier on drill about 24 nm offshore.

Damage Not as Bad As Feared, Thanks to Aircraft's Buoyancy

A $1.5 million salvage endeavor finally removed the P-8 Poseidon that sat in Hawaii's Kaneohe bay for weeks, allowing investigators to evaluate the extent of natural damage caused by the runway overshoot. The Navy had previously purged all the fuel from the Poseidon, hoping to prevent any hazardous contamination of the delicate ecology of the bay. In order to remove the plane, the Navy placed a series of inflatables underneath to lift and roll it straight up, removing its landing gear straight upwards in the hopes of minimizing coral damage.