Hot regional issues like South China Sea expose Australians to foreign agents: spy chief
‘More Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before,’ ASIO head Mike Burgess says
Regional hot-button issues amplified by great power rivalry, such as the South China Sea and Taiwan, have contributed to more Australians “than ever before” being exposed to foreign intelligence operations, Canberra’s top spy has warned.
Australia’s social cohesion faced “unprecedented” tests, with international dynamics playing a role, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director general Mike Burgess said in a speech on Tuesday.
The country had been among the targets of Moscow’s increasingly aggressive intelligence apparatus against Kyiv’s supporters worldwide following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the Middle East conflict had also reshaped Australia’s security environment from afar, he said when delivering the 2025 Lowy Lecture in Sydney.
“Great power competition in our region is contributing to multiple territorial disputes, including in the South China Sea, Kashmir, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula, while also driving a relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information,” the Australian domestic spy chief told the event hosted by the Lowy Institute think tank.
“This is why, based on what ASIO is seeing, more Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before,” Burgess added.
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His remarks came just hours after Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles called out Beijing over the South China Sea, where a mid-air encounter between a Chinese fighter jet and an Australian maritime patrol aircraft two weeks earlier led to the two sides trading accusations.