Australia spy chief warns of espionage as US-China rivalry grows
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Loading... - Estelle Lambert
- 28 Feb 2023
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More Australians are targets of spying ‘than at any time in Australia’s history’, says the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO).
The Indo-Pacific region is witnessing “great power competition” between China and the United States, while a “thirst” for covert information has driven espionage and foreign interference operations targeting Australia, the country’s intelligence chief has warned.
Australia now faces unprecedented threats with more Australians being targeted by foreign agents than ever before, Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said late on Tuesday.
“With the power of the United States, our primary ally, contested by the rise of China” and with territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula, Burgess said Australia was a focus for intelligence actors from inside and outside the region who want to “advance their interests and undermine Australia’s”.
“The variety of governments conducting espionage will surprise you,” the ASIO chief said in his annual threat assessment for Australia. Read More..
