An Australian spy chief triggers a debate about China

Last month Mike Burgess, Australia’s chief domestic spook, sent shockwaves through Canberra when he declared that a former Australian politician had been recruited by a foreign spy ring and “sold out their country”. The ring was later revealed to be Chinese. The politician remains unnamed. The claim triggered fierce speculation, and a debate about whether Mr Burgess was stoking paranoia. Australian intelligence agencies “will do anything to destabilise any meaningful rapprochement” with China, said Paul Keating, a former Labor prime minister, on March 5th.Mr Burgess rarely pulls his punches. He has warned of similar threats in speeches for his Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) since 2020. He often flags foreign meddling. Last year at the first public meeting of the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing group of America, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, he said that “the Chinese government is engaged in the most sustained...and sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history.”