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An Australian spy chief on Tuesday accused Chinese security services of widespread intellectual property theft and political interference, while saying they failed to understand how their Western counterparts operate.
Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, known as ASIO, said he would continue to call for China To harm Australian interests.
“We all spy on each other, but we don’t steal intellectual property wholesale. We don’t really interfere in political systems and we don’t do high-damage activity,” Burgess told the Lowy Institute international policy think tank in Sydney.
Burgess denied his allegations, saying China displayed ignorance about ASIO’s role in Australia.
“Whenever I’ve done that (called out China), there’s an army of Chinese government officials who keep complaining publicly and privately to almost everyone in this country – but not to me.” Burgess said.
“If they were smart as they should be – and they are smart – they would understand Western liberal democracies and the role and statutory status of the security service. We work for the government of the day but our security assessments and our security actions are independent,” he said.
“They clearly don’t understand the system, because if they want to complain about ASIO doing its job and explaining the threats to the people we are protecting, including calling China if needed, it will not stop my resolve, it will not stop my officers from doing the job and I will continue to call them in whenever I need to,” he said.
Relations between China and Australia deepened in 2020 over issues including Beijing’s anger over new laws banning covert foreign interference in Australian politics.
Diplomatic and trade relations have improved since Australia’s current government was first elected in 2022. But security ties remain tense as Australia joins the United States in efforts to counter the growing influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region, which both see as a threat.
Burgess said he has a “strong relationship” with the FBI director. Kash Patel,
“When it comes to the safety of Australians, Americans We are very good friends and they help us every day and we also give our due contribution in helping them. that’s the way it should be. I haven’t seen any change in things since President (Donald) trump Re-elected,” Burgess said.
In 2023, Burgess said in his annual threat assessment that Australia faced an unprecedented threat of espionage and foreign interference and that more Australians than ever were targeted by agents.