According to a report by ABC, Australia “kicked out” Indian spies in 2020 after they tried to steal defence secrets and classified information. Responding to the allegations, Australian Foreign Minister (FM) Penny Wong said that Australia has laws to deal with foreign interference.
The Report
ABC confirmed from national security and government sources that India’s foreign intelligence service managed a “nest of spies” operational in Australia. The spies were charged with keeping a close eye on the Indian diaspora in Australia and cultivating personal connections with current and former politicians. After they were caught trying to steal secrets about “sensitive defence projects,” airport security, and Australia’s trade relationships, “a number” of Indian personnel were expelled from the country by the Morrison government..
Indian spies ‘kicked out’ of Australia for trying to steal defence secrets — ABC News report
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Keshav Padmanabhan @Keshav_Paddu reports #ThePrintForeignAffairshttps://t.co/YDYvhMiNe9
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is said to have disrupted the spies. The spy ring was first mentioned in 2021 by ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess during the Annual Threat Assessment, who did not mention the country’s name in his speech. He said that the spies developed ties with a foreign embassy and a state police service.
Burgess added that the spies tried obtaining information on security protocols at a major airport from a public servant. He detailed how they recruited an Australian government security clearance holder with access to “sensitive details of defence technology.”
In response to questions on the report, Australian FM Wong said that she does not comment on “intelligence matters,” but assured that Australia will uphold its democratic values in the face of “foreign interference.”
Crackdown on RAW Operations
Recently, a Washington Post report named Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official Vikram Yadav as being behind the foiled assassination plot against Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. It mentioned that the RAW chief at that time, Samant Goel, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were probably aware of the plans to kill Sikh activists.
This report mentioned the widespread crackdown on RAW officials across the world and even noted the expulsion of two RAW officers in Australia in 2020. It also spoke about arrests by Germany to root out RAW agents within Sikh communities.
Additionally, it stated that Britain’s domestic security service, MI5, also issued warnings to RAW for its surveillance and harassment of the Sikh population in 2014 and 2015. The agency even threatened to expel Goel, who was then the head of RAW’s station chief in London.
Pakistan has also accused India of carrying out such operations inside its territory. Last month, The Guardian published a report alleging that the Indian government had carried out targeted killings of almost 20 “hostile individuals” in Pakistan since 2020. Last year, India was accused by Canada of being linked to the death of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated in the previous year in June.
While India has officially denied all of these allegations, Indian PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have often spoken about India’s changed stance under which terrorists are now being killed in their homes (“atankwaadiyon ko ghar mein ghus ke mara jata hai”).