Indian spies booted out of Australia for trying to steal sensitive information
Australian authorities expelled two Indian intelligence operatives in 2020 for being members of an elaborate “nest of spies” that attempted to steal sensitive information about defence technology, airport security and trade relationships.
The revelation about the previously secret operations of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), raises uncomfortable questions about Australia’s deepening ties with India, including through the high-profile Quad security grouping
As part of a detailed investigation into Indian foreign interference efforts across the globe, The Washington Post reported on the expulsion of the two RAW officers on Monday.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess revealed in 2021 that ASIO had uncovered a “nest of spies” from a foreign intelligence service, whose operations included grooming politicians and a foreign embassy as informants, but did not identify the country behind it.
Two Australian sources with access to classified briefings and close connections to the intelligence community, but not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed the accuracy of The Washington Post report to this masthead.
In his 2021 annual threat assessment, Burgess said the spies developed targeted relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service.
“They monitored their country’s diaspora community. They tried to obtain classified information about Australia’s trade relationships. They asked a public servant to provide information on security protocols at a major airport.
“They successfully cultivated and recruited an Australian government security clearance holder who had access to sensitive details of defence technology.”
That tells you how incredibly significant India is, and how determined Australia is not to derail the relationship.”
While Australia and the US were determined to stay close to India for economic and strategic reasons, he added: “This kind of thing can fester away and generate mistrust.”
Hall said American anger at India’s attempt to assassinate Pannun on US soil helped explain why plans to hold a leaders’ meeting of the Quad – comprised of India, Australia, the US and Japan – in India this year were looking shaky.
“Some of the Quad initiatives, like quantum computing, require a lot of trust between the member nations, and this kind of thing does not help develop that,” Hall said.
Hall said India’s RAW was old-fashioned, underfunded and not as skilful as some other foreign spy agencies, such as Israel’s Mossad.
Ministry of External Affairs of India spokesman Randhir Jaiswal responded to the Post’s report on Twitter by saying: “The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter.
“There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others.
“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful.”
Modi’s government is widely expected to be easily returned to power for a third parliamentary term in elections under way in India.
