Australia’s intelligence agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), expelled two Indian intelligence operatives in 2020 for attempting to infiltrate and steal sensitive defense technology, airport security, and trade relationship information. The spies, identified as members of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), were part of an elaborate espionage network dubbed a “nest of spies.”
The expulsion of these operatives by Australian authorities raises questions regarding Australia’s relationship with India, a nation considered an ally and a key member of the Quad security grouping, which also includes the United States and Japan. Despite the close ties, the discovery of the spy operation underscores the complex dynamics of international espionage where allies can also pose intelligence threats.
Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General, announced in his 2021 annual threat assessment that the spies had groomed politicians, utilized a foreign embassy, and cultivated a state police service. They were also accused of soliciting a public servant for airport security protocols and successfully recruiting an Australian government security clearance holder who had access to sensitive defense technology. Burgess stated, “They monitored their country’s diaspora community. They tried to obtain classified information about Australia’s trade relationships.”
Ian Hall, an expert on Indian politics at Griffith University, remarked on the importance of India to Australia and the intention not to derail bilateral relations, saying, “That tells you how incredibly significant India is, and how determined Australia is not to derail the relationship.”
The incident has drawn criticism from some quarters within Australia, with Greens home affairs spokesman David Shoebridge emphasizing that “It speaks loudly about the level of subservience and self-censorship of successive Australian governments that we are only hearing about this through revelations in the US four years after the event,” “Australia must have a robust, mature and honest relationship with India, being forthright about human rights and the political challenges the (Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party) BJP government is creating both at home and abroad.”
This revelation of espionage comes amidst other international concerns involving RAW’s activities, including an accusation that a RAW official ordered the assassination of prominent Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US. India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Relevant articles:
– Indian spies booted out of Australia for trying to steal sensitive information, smh.com.au, 05/01/2024
– Australia deports Indian spies for information theft, 04/30/2024
– ASIO disrupted a ‘nest of spies’ operated by the Indian government in Australia before they were booted out, Daily Mail, 04/30/2024
– Pannun assassination approved by former RAW chief, says Washington Post, ThePrint, 04/30/2024
– Gurpatwant Singh Pannun case: U.S. media names Indian official who allegedly ordered plot on Pannun, The Hindu, 04/29/2024