Australia’s spy chief has issued a new warning that foreign interference and espionage in the country had reached “unprecedented” levels that could cause “catastrophic harm” to Canberra’s interests. Lewis, in remarks in parliament late Thursday, said the “current scale of foreign intelligence activity ... is unprecedented”. “Espionage, interference, sabotage and malicious insider activities can inflict catastrophic harm on our country’s interests,” Lewis told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra. Under the proposed laws, a transparency scheme would also require people to declare which foreign actors they are working for. Beijing criticised the disclosure, made under parliamentary privilege, and has also reacted angrily to the foreign interference laws, which came in the wake of fears about Chinese efforts to shape policy and opinion in democracies.

Source: Hindustan Times May 26, 2018 04:52 UTC