The determination of the Chinese communist regime to spy and collect information as part of its relentless efforts to expand its influence throughout the world was in stark relief this past week.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of spying on its own citizens.
The use of facial recognition cameras on the streets of Xinjiang province to control the movement of the Uyghurs has long been known.
The presence of the surveillance cameras in federal government agencies in Australia was revealed after a six-month audit by Senator James Patterson, the shadow minister for cyber security.
The removal of the devices manufactured by two Chinese companies, Hikvision and Dahua, which are part-owned by the CCP, follows the revelations.
It follows similar bans by two of the other Five Eyes partners, the United States and the United Kingdom.
It is surprising that government departments and agencies had not been alert to the concerns earlier, given the knowledge of Chinese surveillance.
All levels of government in Australia should urgently undertake their own audits, as should private businesses.
The audit should extend to other equipment, including drones used by the military and police forces.
The surveillance cameras and the spy balloons are part of the CCP’s vast intelligence network.
If asked about travel balloons, most people think of spirited adventurers swinging in a wicker basket beneath a colourful canopy filled with hot air, drifting in the prevailing winds until the gas burner is turned down and it gently returns to earth.
Others may recall the Zeppelin airships from the beginning of last century and the modern blimps that tend to be used as advertisements in the sky.
Unravelling the Surface of the CCP’s Balloon Network
When a balloon was discovered floating above sensitive military installations in the United States, the CCP feigned surprise. It was merely a meteorological balloon that had drifted off-course, said a Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson.Except this giant orb, some 60 metres (197 feet) in height, was also self-propelling, and had been manoeuvred to pass over the missile bases. Carrying the payload of a domestic airliner, it is now believed to be part of an elaborate global surveillance network.
The CCP publication the Global Times announced recently that China planned to build a ground satellite station on Antarctica.
The balloon’s design and materials, and the height at which it was operating—far above normal aircraft—made it less likely to be detected by radar.
Another balloon was discovered over Colombia with sightings over Venezuela and Costa Rica. There have also been reports of sightings over India and the Philippines.
Multiple other unidentified objects in North American skies have been shot down.
Subsequent information reveals that the balloon and its sensitive equipment was manufactured by a PLA-related company in China. It is believed to have been launched from another military site on Hainan Island.
The PLA has been discussing the use of balloons for military purposes for a decade. Nine years ago, it noted a balloon’s “lasting ability to stay airborne and provide instant response based on command.”
Other Chinese military researchers wrote: “[The balloon can] induce and mobilise the enemy’s air defence system, providing the conditions for the implementation of electronic reconnaissance, assessment of air defence systems’ early warning detection and operational response capabilities.”
The CCP tested hypersonic missiles by dropping them from a balloon in 2018.
Given the existence of sensitive military installations in the north of Australia, the Australian government should reveal if any spy balloons have been detected over the continent—and what measures are being implemented to detect and counter any such activities.
