British universities have drastically increased their collaboration with institutions linked to the Chinese military and could be helping the communist regime develop hi-tech weaponry, the Times of London has revealed. The number of research collaborations between UK scientists and Chinese institutes with deep connections to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has tripled to more than 1,000 in six years, according to an investigation conducted by the paper. Since 2015, British universities have accepted £240 million ($325 million) from Chinese institutions, many of which have close links to the PLA. A major source of funding has been telecommunications giant Huawei, which has contributed £40 million ($54 million) to UK institutions. A further £20 million ($27 million) came from other companies sanctioned by the U.S. government for supplying the PLA with fighter jets, missiles, and communications technology. British academics have collaborated with military-linked Chinese universities on sensitive “dual-use” research, involving technology that …