Chinese Australians should be harnessed as assets in fight against foreign interference, says Dave Sharma

Federal Liberal politician and career diplomat Dave Sharma has called on national security agencies to better engage Chinese Australians.

Federal Liberal politician and career diplomat Dave Sharma

Federal Liberal politician and career diplomat Dave Sharma Source: AAP

Australia's security agencies are being encouraged to better engage the country's Chinese communities in the fight against foreign interference and intimidation from Beijing.

Dave Sharma, a Liberal politician and career diplomat, says Chinese Australians should be harnessed as assets.

He believes these communities need to be aware of vulnerabilities and alert to attempts to recruit them.
"Australia's Islamic community has been a great resource in fighting attempts by the Islamic State group to radicalise our citizens and turn them against Australia," Mr Sharma said on Tuesday.

"We need to have the same level of cooperation with Australia's Chinese communities."
Mr Sharma says security agencies need to actively recruit more Chinese Australians and Mandarin speakers.

"This will require a new approach to security clearances," he said.

"Many candidates are being turned away and others are leaving government service because of this issue."
More broadly, Mr Sharma says Australia must remain calm and patient in the face of deteriorating relations with China.

"We should avoid overreaction or panic. We must recognise that Beijing is testing us and should expect continued turbulence," he said.

"Australia should articulate its red lines clearly to Beijing and seek reciprocal respect for them."

In a brief published by the China Matters policy institute, Mr Sharma also stressed the need for closer ties with regional allies including India and Japan, and said Taiwan should be invited to join a trans-Pacific trade pact.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP, SBS


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world