Australia has quietly expelled four Indian spies involved in targeting defense technology, politicians, and airport security.
An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revealed the expulsion of these spies. Despite strong public relations between Canberra and New Delhi, Australian authorities discovered in 2020 that an Indian espionage network was seeking access to defense technology, security protocols, and sensitive information about former and current politicians, as well as monitoring the Indian Australian community.
India’s espionage activities had already been exposed in Canada and the US, and a network was being created to influence Australian lawmakers. In 2021, Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess uncovered a ‘network of spies’ from India, revealing that spies posing as diplomats were developing relationships with politicians and state police to seek classified information about airport security.
The ABC reported that the expelled spies were targeting Australian politicians and entities associated with defense technologies. The authorities chose to quietly remove the spies to avoid embarrassing the Modi government, but there are calls within Australia for a public condemnation of the espionage activities.
Greens’ Senator David Shoebridge has demanded that Australia publicly condemn India, stating that the country should speak openly about the matter and name the country whose espionage network was caught.