Australia more attractive for Russian spies after AUKUS
Dominic Giannini |
Australia has become more attractive to Russian spy agencies as Canberra increases security collaboration the United States after signing the AUKUS agreement, one national security expert says.
The arrest of two Russian-born Australians over an alleged spying scheme targeting the Defence Department emphasises concerns over espionage and foreign interference.
Assuming the allegations are true, the spying could have been related to Australia’s support for Ukraine or for secrets passed on by the US under the AUKUS agreement, which involves Australia obtaining nuclear submarines.
“The reality is Australia has ramped up as a target since the initiation of the AUKUS pact,” said Dr William Stoltz, senior adviser at the ANU National Security College.
“We have been a key part in the international sanctions regime against Russia as well, so they would be seeking to understand the military technology we have in development but maybe even other ways we are seeking to support Ukraine.”
The fact Army private Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor, 62, have become the first people charged under a 2018 national security law showed the system was working, Dr Stoltz said.
The case wasn’t surprising given the director-general of intelligence agency ASIO had warned Australia was being targeted by spies at an unprecedented level.
“It was kind of a sense of it was a matter of time before someone was going to be charged,” he told AAP.
“Something that should be noted, the reason this is the first instance is not because people aren’t engaging in espionage, but because it is very difficult to bring these people to a court of law.”
On top of the need for robust evidence, intelligence agencies were also hesitant about bringing cases to court as they may need to reveal sources and capabilities, Dr Stoltz said.
The two Australians, who retain Russian passports, remain in police custody after neither applied for bail at a Brisbane court on Friday.
There was no ongoing threat, the Australian Federal Police said.
An official at the Russian embassy in Canberra directed requests for comment on the matter to an email address and no response had been received by about 4pm on Friday.
Police allege the army private visited Russia while on long-term leave in 2023 and coached her husband into accessing defence information through the computer.
Investigations into whether information was passed on are still ongoing, with the prospect charges could be upgraded from preparing for espionage to an outright espionage offence.
The married couple arrived in Australia about 10 years ago before becoming citizens some years later.
Police are investigating whether their alleged links to Russia predate their arrival or they were turned after arriving in Australia.
The police refused to reveal when they became aware of the alleged offending.
Dr Stoltz said there was a tendency within the intelligence community to “let things run for a while to fully identify the network the target is connected with and what information they are trying to obtain”.
“It’s fairly safe to assume they would have been under close observation for quite a while.”
AAP
