Chinese army engaged in secret mission to gain information on military technology from western scientists: Australian think tank

New York: The Chinese government is engaged in a campaign of secretly enrolling the nation’s prized military scientists in Western universities to gain expertise in such areas as “hypersonic missiles and navigation technology,” according to a new report from a think tank tied to Australia’s defense ministry. The report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) claims the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has paid for “more than 2,500 military scientists and engineers to study abroad,” with many of them hiding their official ties to China’s defence community. A key focus of Beijing’s program, the institute suggests, is to place the scientists in universities located in the so-called “Five Eyes countries” parlance referring to the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. [caption id=“attachment_5494201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “Dozens of PLA scientists have obscured their military affiliations to travel to Five Eyes countries and the European Union, including at least 17 to Australia, where they work in areas such as hypersonic missiles and navigation technology,” states the report published this week. “Those countries don’t count China as a security ally but rather treat it as one of their main intelligence adversaries,” it says, warning that “it’s not clear that Western universities and governments are fully aware of this phenomenon.” While tension has risen between the US and China in recent years, analysts note geopolitical friction between Australia and China may be notably hotter than that currently occurring between Washington and Beijing. The claims made in the report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute a think tank headquartered near Canberra and partially financed by the Australian Department of Defence appear to reflect Australia’s heightened concern over China’s increasing activities around the world. The report suggests Australia, as well as US universities, have sought to bolster their coffers with tuition and grant money from Chinese students and other sources. “While countries such as Australia and the US pride themselves on their scientific achievements, their universities and research institutes face limited or declining domestic funding,” it says. “To address these issues, many universities have turned to China an emerging scientific powerhouse that has sought to build ties to scientific communities around the world.” The document notes that such “collaboration has generally been a productive and welcome part of the Australia-China relationship.”