In 2020, Australian authorities ousted two individuals linked to Indian intelligence, accusing them of involvement in an intricate “spy network” aimed at pilfering classified data on defense technology, airport security, and trade partnerships, according to a report published in The Age.
The disclosure of previously undisclosed activities by India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), prompts uncomfortable inquiries into Australia’s increasingly close relationship with India, particularly within the high-profile Quad security alliance.
In a comprehensive examination of Indian foreign influence activities worldwide, The Washington Post detailed the expulsion of two RAW officers on Monday.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess disclosed in 2021 the discovery of a clandestine “nest of spies” from a foreign intelligence service, involving the cultivation of politicians and a foreign embassy for information, without specifying the country involved. Two Australian sources privy to classified briefings and closely linked to the intelligence sector, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorisation, corroborated The Washington Post’s findings to The Age.
In his 2021 annual threat assessment, Burgess noted that the spies had established targeted connections with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy, and a state police service.
“They monitored their country’s diaspora community, attempted to procure classified information regarding Australia’s trade relations, and solicited a public servant for details on security protocols at a major airport,” Burgess stated. “They successfully groomed and recruited an Australian government security clearance holder with access to sensitive defence technology information.”
ASIO confronted the spies, discreetly expelled them from the country, and revoked the security clearance of the government employee involved. Burgess emphasized that the nation behind the espionage operation was “not from a country in our region,” opting not to disclose its identity to avoid unnecessary distractions.
Greens home affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said Australia needed to make plain to India that “these are clearly not the actions of a supposed ally”.
“It speaks loudly to the degree of subservience and self-censorship from successive Australian governments that we only hear about this four years after the event through disclosures in the US,” he said.
“Australia must have a robust, mature and honest relationship with India that includes being frank about the human rights and political challenges the [Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party] BJP administration is creating both at home and abroad.”
“As is long-standing practice, ASIO does not comment on intelligence matters.”, ASIO spokesperson was quoted by The Age.
The Indian High Commission in Canberra has not responded to a request for comment, the report said.
According to The Post report, an Indian RAW official named Vikram Yadav was implicated in purportedly instructing a contracted hit team to assassinate prominent Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.
Pannun, a central figure in the global Khalistan movement, acts as the spokesperson and legal advisor for the Sikhs for Justice organisation, which campaigns for the establishment of an independent Sikh state. The Indian government has labeled Pannun as a terrorist.
