China’s interference with Australian politics is a growing threat to our national security
THE worries about foreign influence are solely about national security — a threat less obvious and immediate than the danger posed by North Korea’s nuclear missiles or an ISIS terror attack but insidious and growing nevertheless.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THIS week the Washington Post carried a column by well-connected foreign affairs writer Josh Rogin who declared, “Washington is waking up to the huge scope and scale of Chinese Communist Party operations inside the United States, which permeate American institutions of all kinds.”
Rogin said “the foreign influence campaign is part and parcel of China’s larger campaign for global power” and that “Beijing’s strategy is first to cut off critical discussion of China’s government, then to co-opt American influencers in order to promote China’s narrative”.
Australians can be excused for wanting to tune out politics, but by now it should be clear to all — other than those who for whatever reason deliberately choose to look the other way — that exactly the same thing is going on here and has been for some time.
“ASIO has reportedly identified about 10 political candidates for state and local elections who it believes have close ties to Chinese intelligence services, which it assesses are pursuing an orchestrated campaign to place agents of influence in Australian parliaments.”
Moreover, what’s been exposed of Sam Dastyari’s pro-Beijing activities over a number of years — which include parroting Communist Party propaganda lines in speeches, pushing Chinese positions in Senate Estimates hearings, soliciting funding from Chinese sources to pay expenses and, according to allegations in the media, tipping off a wealthy political donor that Australian agencies may be tapping his phone — is just the tip of a much bigger Chinese-influence iceberg.
DASTYARI HAD TO GO BUT CHINA THE BIGGER ISSUE
DASTYARI’S UNDISCLOSED CHINESE DONATION REVEALED
We know that cashed-up donors with close connections to the Chinese Communist Party have made large donations to both sides of Australian politics.
ASIO has reportedly identified about 10 political candidates for state and local elections who it believes have close ties to Chinese intelligence services, which it assesses are pursuing an orchestrated campaign to place agents of influence in Australian parliaments.
Australian universities, commercial interests and Chinese-language media organisations are also priority targets.
This threat is less obvious and immediate than the danger posed by North Korea’s nuclear missiles or an ISIS terror attack. But it is insidious and growing.
Over time, it could be even more serious: ASIO’s 2016 annual report warned that covert influence operations pose a threat to Australia’s sovereignty, the integrity of its national institutions and the exercise of Australians’ rights.
“Hopefully Dastyari’s demise will serve as a salutary warning to other politicians, at least for a while.”
We in Australia aren’t accustomed to worrying about these fundamentals — indeed we often take them for granted.
But those days may be coming to an end. The risk is that, unless we face up to what is happening, bit by bit we will cede our ability as a country to make our own choices about our future security and prosperity and, ultimately, how we organise our society. The stakes could not be greater.
It’s hard to see Labor opposing them, given the briefings it must be receiving from agencies and the political imperative to put the Dastyari fiasco behind it.
The new laws are a good start, but just a start.
Hopefully Dastyari’s demise will serve as a salutary warning to other politicians, at least for a while. But a determined and resourceful Leninist power that views international relations as a perpetual conflict and the “united front” political warfare tactics it has employed in Australia and elsewhere as legitimate is unlikely to be put off by a few setbacks.
“Beijing’s transparent efforts to play the racism card should be given even shorter shrift: Australia remains a welcoming and tolerant country and this is about national security, not ethnicity.”
Beijing’s operatives may lie low for a while but it won’t be too long before they start looking for creative ways around the new laws.
Australia needs to be ready for a long struggle, as do the US and other democracies targeted by China’s political influence activities — tackling covert, corrupt and coercive practices head-on while at the same time striving to maintain constructive relations where our interests coincide.
The government should ignore the indignant bluster coming from Chinese officials who are angry to have been finally caught in the act after getting their way for years.
Beijing’s transparent efforts to play the racism card should be given even shorter shrift: Australia remains a welcoming and tolerant country and this is about national security, not ethnicity.
Trump and China diverge on new world order
The more difficult challenge will be to resist the self-interested entreaties that are already coming from various quarters in the business community and a predictable handful of commentators to tread softly despite flagrant interference in Australia’s domestic political affairs.
If we can’t push back politely but firmly now, imagine how much harder it will be in the future when China is two or three times more powerful.
With nothing less than our national independence at stake, failing to do so would be dereliction — or worse.
Andrew Shearer is senior adviser on Asia-Pacific Security at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. He was national security adviser to prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott.