Australia will uphold its democratic values in the face of “foreign interference” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong on May 1 in response to a question on reports that India had at one point in the recent past a “nest of spies” on Australian soil. The response came after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) had earlier reported that Indian “spies” were “kicked out” after they were “caught trying to steal secrets about sensitive defence projects and airport security”.
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“[...]You would be unsurprised to hear me respond that we don’t comment on intelligence matters. But at a level of principle about the democracy, I think you would have heard me and other Ministers on many occasions assert the importance of our democratic principles, assert the importance of ensuring that we maintain the resilience of our democracy, including in the face of any suggestion of foreign interference, and we have laws to deal with that,” Ms. Wong said in response to a question from the Australian media.
Australia and India are close strategic partners and both are members of the Quad formation along with Japan and the United States. That apart, Australia and India have also signed an ECTA — Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, and are in talks for a comprehensive trade pact. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation earlier reported that Indian operatives were caught while they were trying to access “classified information on Australia’s trade relationships”, indicating the broad nature of the alleged Indian network that reportedly also surveilled upon members of the Indian diaspora.
Despite growing ties, India in recent years has faced repeated difficulties with the Khalistan movement that caused irritants in New Delhi’s relationship with Australia where the pro-Khalistan movement has held protests in major cities. Last week, ABC’s India bureau chief Avani Dias said, she had to leave India “abruptly” indicating difficulties in getting a visa extension. Officials here, however, indicated later that she was given the required visa extension. The problem with the journalist was associated with her decision to bring in depth coverage to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan ideologue in Canada.
“The so-called foreign ‘nest of spies’ disrupted by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in 2020 was also accused of closely monitoring Indians living here and developing close relations with current and former politicians,” ABC had reported announcing that a number of Indian officials associated with the intelligence activities were sent back from Australia during the tenure of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, predecessor of current PM Anthony Albanese. The Ministry of External Affairs has so far refused to comment on the matter.
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