Australia to create new force for countering spy threats

Canberra: Australia on Monday announced the creation of a special intelligence task force to combat foreign espionage and interference, amid growing threats.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned of the evolution of external threats and remarked that the new body would coordinate all the country’s intelligence agencies to help “discover, track and disrupt” foreign interference posing a threat to national security, reports Efe news.

“We will be developing new specialist capabilities both from an investigatory capacity as well as being able to pursue investigations and bring them to either disrupt the activity or, indeed, follow through and prosecute,” Morrison told reporters.

He noted that the task force would be allocated AU$87.8 million ($59.5 million), and fall under the Ministry of the Interior.

During his announcement, Morrison avoided explicitly mentioning China, which has been often accused of political interference in Australia. (IANS)

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