Australia Orders Review Into Chinese-Made Cameras In Defence Offices Amid Security Fears

The move comes after Britain in November asked its government departments to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings over national security fears.

The Australian government on Thursday said that it will examine surveillance technology used in offices of the defence department

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New Delhi: Amid the US-China spy balloon row, the Australian government on Thursday said that it will examine surveillance technology used in offices of the defence department, following reports that Chinese-made cameras installed there posed a security risk.

"This is an issue and ... we're doing an assessment of all the technology for surveillance within the defence (department) and where those particular cameras are found, they are going to be removed," Defence Minister Richard Marles told ABC Radio in an interview.

 

The move comes after Britain in November asked its government departments to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings over national security fears, Reuters reported.

 

According to the report, some US states have banned vendors and products from several Chinese technology companies.

An audit of surveillance equipment, conducted by the shadow cybersecurity minister James Paterson, has confirmed that almost 1,000 products built by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are installed at more than 250 Australian government offices.

Paterson urged the government to urgently come up with a plan to remove all such cameras, according to Reuters.

Hikvision said it was "categorically false" to represent the company as a threat to Australia's national security as it could not access the video data of end users, manage end-user databases or sell cloud storage in Australia.

"Our cameras are compliant with all applicable Australian laws and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements," a spokesperson said in an emailed response.

According to Australian media, the national war monument in Canberra will remove several Chinese-made security cameras installed on the premises over concerns of spying.

Australia and China have been working to mend diplomatic ties that were strained in part by Australia's decision to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G broadband network in 2018. 

Australia's call for an independent probe into the origins of COVID-19 further damaged their relations.

China retaliated with tariffs on several Australian commodities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was not concerned about how China might react to the removal of cameras.

"We act in accordance with Australia's national interest. We do so transparently and that's what we will continue to do," Albanese told reporters.

(With inputs from Reuters)