Australian Overseas Minister Penny Wong speaks throughout a joint information convention following a gathering of Australian and South Korean international and protection ministers in Melbourne on Could 1, 2024. | Picture credit score: AFP
Australia will defend its democratic values within the face of “international interference,” Overseas Minister Penny Wong mentioned on Could 1 in response to a query about studies that India at one level within the current previous had a “nest of spies.” ” on Australian soil. The response got here after the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) earlier reported that Indian “spies” had been “expelled” after being “caught making an attempt to steal secrets and techniques about delicate protection tasks and airport safety.”
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“[…]You would not be shocked to listen to me reply that we do not touch upon intelligence issues. However on the degree of ideas about democracy, I believe you’ll have heard me and different Ministers on many events affirm the significance of our democratic ideas, affirm the significance of making certain that we preserve the resilience of our democracy, even within the face of any suggestion of interference international, and we’ve got legal guidelines to take care of that,” Ms Wong mentioned in response to a query from Australian media.
Australia and India are shut strategic companions and are each members of the Quad formation together with Japan and america. Aside from that, Australia and India have additionally signed an ECTA (Financial Cooperation and Commerce Settlement) and are in talks for a complete commerce pact. He Australian Broadcasting Company beforehand reported that Indian brokers had been caught whereas making an attempt to entry “labeled details about Australia’s enterprise relationships,” indicating the in depth nature of the alleged Indian community that was additionally reportedly surveilling members of the Indian diaspora.
Regardless of rising ties, India has confronted repeated difficulties with the Khalistan motion lately that irritated New Delhi’s relationship with Australia, the place the pro-Khalistan motion has held protests in main cities. Final week, ABCIndia workplace chief Avani Dias mentioned she needed to go away India “abruptly”, indicating difficulties in acquiring a visa extension. Nonetheless, officers right here later indicated that she was granted the required visa extension. The issue with the journalist was related together with her resolution to cowl in depth the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan ideologue in Canada.
“The so-called international ‘spy nest’ dismantled by the Australian Safety Intelligence Group (ASIO) in 2020 was additionally accused of carefully monitoring Indians residing right here and creating shut relationships with present and former politicians,” ABC reported , asserting that a number of Indian officers related to intelligence actions had been despatched again from Australia throughout the tenure of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, predecessor of present Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The Ministry of Overseas Affairs has up to now refused to touch upon the matter.
