Almost 1,000 Chinese-made surveillance cameras are installed in Australia's government offices. For fear of espionage, these are now to be replaced step by step. Other Western countries have also expressed concerns.
Australian authorities want dozens of Chinese-made surveillance cameras removed from government officials' offices. The Treasury confirmed some cameras had already been replaced as part of a broader security upgrade, with 40 more due to be replaced by April, the ministry said. In recent years, representatives of Western countries have repeatedly warned of the danger of espionage from Chinese-made cameras. According to official information, a total of 913 Chinese-made security cameras are installed in more than 250 Australian government buildings, including those of the Ministry of Defense.
Defense Secretary Richard Marles told ABC television last week that all cameras in his ministry's buildings would be removed to "ensure our facilities are completely secure." Opposition politician James Peterson had warned of "Chinese spy software" in connection with the surveillance cameras. The cameras that have now been removed were not connected to the Internet and were removed as a precaution, the Ministry of Defense said.
The cameras were made by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua, which are blacklisted in the US. The companies are accused of supporting the Chinese government in its crackdown on the Xinjiang region's Muslim Uyghur minority. The US and UK have previously taken action against the installation of Chinese-made cameras in government buildings. Both states had expressed fears that Chinese companies could be forced to share information gathered by the cameras with Beijing's security services.
In November last year, Washington banned the import of surveillance devices from Hikvision and Dahua because they said they posed an "unacceptable risk to national security". Hikvision said it was "categorically wrong" to portray the company as a "national security threat". Referring to Australia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, "We hope Australia will create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies to operate normally."
