Selling defence and national security information is a serious matter. From a national security and defence perspective, you can’t get much more serious. Selling it to a less-than-friendly player is to be treated even more seriously.
So what are we to make of the allegations (and let’s remember that is all it is at the moment) against Australian businessman Alexander Csergo?
First, we must embrace the virtue of our civilised society governed by the rule of law, which presumes innocence until guilt is determined.
No matter how concerning, confronting or upsetting the allegation a mob piles on against the accused is neither dignified nor justified. The presumption which protects us all must be applied without fear or favour, or misgivings.
Nevertheless, the seriousness of the case can be gauged by the presiding magistrate, Michael Barko, refusing bail to the accused not only on the basis of the risk of absconding from the jurisdiction but also out of concern for the accused’s personal safety.
Csergo’s personal safety was not deemed to be threatened by the mob in Australia, which might be outraged at the alleged offences, but by the entity to which it is alleged the secrets were sold, namely the Chinese communist dictatorship.
Such is the gravity of the matter, which the courts will soon need to determine.
Unity More Important Than Ever
The allegations, if proven, are truly horrendous. Who would seek to sell their country’s secrets? Who would seek to jeopardise their country’s security?Secrets allegedly include information about the groundbreaking and vitally important AUKUS agreement, which tied the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia in a close-knit military bond, helping to secure Australia’s defence through the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
The sharing of the UK and U.S. nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia was a great coup for the Morrison government and has been rightly embraced by the current Labor government.
Similarly, it appears there is bi-partisan support in the countries that are sharing their sophisticated technology with Australia, suggesting a strong common bond and unity of purpose.
Such sentiment is required for these uncertain times, seeing as a communist dictatorship with a dismissive approach to human rights for its own people and complete disregard for a rules-based international order is seeking to dominate its region and the world.
With corrupt regional governments willingly accepting the Beijing dictatorship’s largesse, it is imperative that those leaders who believe in the virtues of democracy remain united in purpose and provide practical support to each other.
Not to mention pathetically weak international leadership emanating from France and Brazil in recent times and former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating’s forelock-tugging obsequiousness to the brutal dictatorship, where the thinking is based on feeding the crocodile in the hope it eats you last.
Unity and the sharing of military, defence, and strategic information and material is the requirement that such information remains absolutely protected.
It is here where the Csergo case is clothed in extra significance and potential embarrassment for Australia as it might not unreasonably lead to our staunch and reliable allies questioning our capacity to be involved in such joint projects.
AUKUS Is Crucial for Australia
With a coastline as long as Australia’s, the need for submarine capacity is a vital component of any defence strategy.And given the coastline’s length, the avoidance of the need for re-fuelling is obvious. The ability of Australia’s submarines to remain submerged and have a limitless energy supply takes Australia’s naval capacity to a new level which has rightly been fully embraced by both sides of politics.
Regionally, it signals Australia’s status as a serious player in the stability of our region. It’s the sort of commitment essential to be an integral part of not only AUKUS but also the QUAD (the defence agreement with the United States, India, Japan, and Australia).
In an era where there has been far too much pandering and deliberate turning of a blind eye to Beijing’s communist dictatorship and its threats to peace for short-term financial benefits or avoidance of diplomatic displeasure, we need a robust and reliable alliance with like-mindedness to ensure each other’s security.
In that heightened scenario of security and peace challenges, Australia needs reputational credibility with its allies.
Australia’s foreign interference laws enacted in 2018 help underpin the country’s reputation as being serious in the security space.
The prosecution of Csergo under these new laws also underpins Australia’s reputation, if only for the fact it has tracked the activities and is presenting the allegations before a court of law.
Irrespective of what the courts might ultimately determine in the Csergo case, the matter should serve as a reminder to all Australians that their obligation to their fellow Australians’ security should always be paramount in their considerations.
The lure of the dollar will and can never salve the conscience of a betrayer.
