Australian reaction to nest of spies’ from India muted amid warming ties

Response a distinct contrast when compared with accusations against China

- Jonathan Pearlman

The revelation this week that India was behind a "nest of spies" disclosed in Australia in 2021 has been downplayed by government officials in both countries, in a sign of the deepening relationship between Canberra and New Delhi.

In 2021, the head of Australia's domestic spy agency, Mr Mike Burgess, revealed that his agency had exposed a spy ring that had targeted politicians and police, but he refused to name which country it was from.

Instead, Mr Burgess, who heads the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), seems to have deliberately led the public astray by claiming that the foreign agents were "not from a country in our region".

Speculation turned to the country being a geopolitical rival such as China or Russia, but it emerged on April 29 that the source of the espionage was India. New Delhi's involvement was reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by local media.

Despite reportedly expelling two Indian officials in 2020, Australia appears to have tried to keep the affair quiet.

The responses by politicians and commentators to the recent divulgence were noticeably muted, especially in comparison to the furore in recent years that has often followed reports of attempts by Chinese operatives to target Australia.

Responding to the revelations about India on May 1, Australia's Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, told ABC News: "I don't propose to get into those stories." Australia's Foreign Minister, Ms Penny Wong, was similarly tightlipped, telling reporters: "We don't comment on intelligence matters." An expert on Australian intelligence, Mr Clive Williams, a former director of security intelligence in the Defence Ministry, said Australia typically did not publicise the exposure of foreign agencies, especially if they were from friendly countries.