Australian Defense Department to Remove Chinese-Made Cameras

The Australian Defense Department announced on Thursday that it would be removing all surveillance cameras manufactured by Chinese Communist Party-linked companies from its buildings. This move follows similar actions taken by the U.S. and Britain. According to an article in The Australian newspaper, at least 913 cameras, intercoms, electronic entry systems, and video recorders made by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are currently in use in Australian government buildings, including the Defense Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These two companies are partially owned by the Chinese Communist Party-controlled government.

Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that the department is reviewing all of its surveillance technology, and any cameras made by the Chinese companies will be removed. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, criticized the decision, calling it a “wrongful practice” that oversteps the concept of national security and abuses state power to discriminate against Chinese companies. Mao added that the Chinese government encourages Chinese enterprises to invest and cooperate in accordance with market principles and international rules while abiding by local laws.

In November, the U.S. government banned telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several prominent Chinese brands, including Hikvision and Dahua, in an effort to protect the nation’s communications network. The British government also banned Hikvision cameras from government buildings that same month. An audit in Australia found that Hikvision and Dahua cameras and security equipment were in use in almost all government departments except the Agriculture Department and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Opposition cybersecurity spokesman James Paterson prompted the audit by asking questions of each federal agency over a six-month period after the Home Affairs Department was unable to determine the number of cameras and intercoms installed in government buildings. Paterson has called for a plan to remove all such devices from government departments and agencies. Both Hikvision and Dahua are subject to China’s National Intelligence Law, which requires them to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies.

“We would have no way of knowing if the sensitive information, images and audio collected by these devices are secretly being sent back to China against the interests of Australian citizens,” Paterson said.