Australian Federal Police to Renew Three Security Agreements with Chinese Communist Party
The head of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has arrived in China to re-sign three security deals with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
This comes as the AFP will commemorate 25 years of its partnership with Beijing.
While the focus of the agreements is countering narcotics trafficking, the two countries will re-sign an agreement about combating other types of crime and enhancing cooperation on matters that impact Australia.
In addition, another agreement will aim to tackle transnational crime by facilitating information exchange and assistance between the two countries.
The AFP said 28 tonnes of illicit drugs and precursors had been seized since 2015 thanks to a joint operation, saving an estimated 592 Australian lives.
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“And those trafficking illicit drugs are a national security threat. They attempt to corrupt officials and key logistics workers, they use the Australian financial system to launder illegal wealth, and they use the proceeds of illicit drug trafficking to bankroll more crime in Australia and our region.”
“To protect Australians and our way of life, the AFP has made it a priority to work with international and domestic agencies to help stop illicit drugs at source countries.”
Under the joint task force with the CCP, each country’s security agency will focus on its respective priority regions, the AFP said.
Specifically, the AFP will scrutinize two metropolitans, Sydney and Melbourne, along with transhipment countries in the Pacific, while CCP’s agency will investigate Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, as well as other provinces that have drug routes to Australia.
25-Year Partnership with CCP
At the same time, Mr. Kershaw acknowledged the AFP’s 25-year partnership with CCP’s Public Security Ministry after it established an office in Beijing.
“The AFP was the first Western foreign policing agency to establish its presence in Beijing, which later expanded with the opening of the Guangzhou office in 2007,” he said.
“The world has significantly changed since 1999, and our collective partnerships have also required adjustments to allow us to effectively combat a raft of domestic, regional, and international crime threats and challenges.”
CCP Did Nothing to Stop Drugs Flooding the US
While the AFP highlighted the need to cooperate with the CCP to deal with drug trafficking in Australia, some U.S. politicians have pointed out that the CCP has done nothing to curb the flood of deadly drugs flowing into the United States.
Mr. Newhouse also said the CCP failed to keep its promise to tackle the source of illegal drugs.
“In 2018, after Washington urged Beijing to stop fueling the opioid epidemic in the United States, China announced all variants of fentanyl would be treated as controlled substances,” he said.
“However, they failed to enforce this and have subsequently continued to deny illicit fentanyl producers are a major source of illicit opioids in the United States despite data pointing to the contrary.
“We simply cannot trust them to be a responsible stakeholder and address this crisis in good faith.”
CCP’s Secret Police Stations in Australia
The secret police station was among the over 100 illegal police outposts operated by the CCP in 53 countries to monitor, harass, threaten, intimidate, and force dissidents to return to China for persecution.
While the AFP was aware of media reports about the secret police stations in Australia, it did not believe those contact points were active.
“I don’t believe it’s active,” AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told a Senate estimates hearing in November 2022.
“In terms of the work we do in the countering foreign interference space, it doesn’t stand still. It is ongoing, and I’m not prepared in an opening hearing to detail those issues.”
Cindy Li contributed to this article.
