Australia spy chief says West faces new Russia, China, Iran, N Korea ‘axis’

Head of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence said the West must disrupt emerging ‘networks’ that pose a threat.

An “emerging axis” of countries providing support to Russia, including China, Iran and North Korea, is “a profoundly troubling strategic development” that Western countries are struggling to deal with, the head of Australia’s national intelligence office has warned.

Director-General of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, said on Wednesday that the strategic impact of the emerging axis, with China and Russia at its core, had been underestimated.

“The massive provision by China of dual-use assistance to Putin, and economic support and diplomatic support is keeping Putin’s army in the field in Ukraine, killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles,” Shearer said at a conference in Canberra.

“We have to do a better job of disrupting these burgeoning networks,” Shearer added, pointing to the provision of Iranian drones to Russia, as well as North Korean missiles and soldiers being sent to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

“This is a profoundly troubling strategic development and we are all grappling to catch up with it and put in place effective measures, but I think this is one of the strategic challenges of our time,” he said.