SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Two Chinese nationals are set to appear in court on Wednesday, after Australian police charged them with foreign interference on grounds of covertly collecting information about a Buddhist group, on behalf of a Chinese government security agency.
It is the second instance of Chinese nationals being charged under foreign interference laws that Australia introduced in 2018, and the pair become the fourth and fifth individuals so charged.
The Australian Federal Police said a 25-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman allegedly worked with another Chinese woman, who was charged in August, to gather information about the Canberra branch of the group, Guan Yin Citta.
“Multiple foreign regimes are monitoring, harassing and intimidating members of our diaspora communities,” Australia’s spy chief, Mike Burgess, said in a statement issued jointly with police.
“This sort of behaviour is utterly unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
Each defendant faces a count of reckless foreign interference, carrying a maximum jail term of 15 years, on the court appearance in the Australian capital.
The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
The introduction of the foreign interference laws had strained ties with China, Australia’s largest trading partner. Two prior such cases involved Australian citizens accused of working with Chinese intelligence agencies.
Police said the investigation began last year after spy agency the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) provided information.
Foreign interference is one of Australia’s principal security concerns, added Burgess, the agency’s director general.
“A complex, challenging and changing security environment is becoming more dynamic, diverse and degraded,” he added in the joint statement.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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