Australia Removes China-Made Cameras From Politicians' Offices
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Sydney: Chinese- made security cameras would soon be removed from politicians’ offices, Australian officials said on Tuesday.
Richard Marles, the Country’s Defence Minister had earlier stated that his department would remove the devices from its buildings due to security concerns.
Marles told national broadcaster ABC last week that all these cameras within his department's buildings would be removed, saying it was to "make sure that our facilities are completely secure".
Officials from the Department of Finance on Tuesday confirmed a further 65 closed-circuit television systems had been installed within offices used by Australian politicians.
At least 40 systems still needed to be replaced as part of a broader security upgrade, the department said, adding that they would be replaced by April.
The CCTV cameras which were not connected to the internet, will also be removed as a precaution, the department said.
The United States and Britain have made similar moves of halting the installation of Chinese-made cameras at sensitive sites.
Both countries have expressed fears that Chinese companies could be forced to share intelligence collected by the cameras with Beijing's security services.
The cameras made by companies Hikvision and Dahua, have been blacklisted in the US for allegedly helping the Chinese government carry out a "campaign of repression".
According to the US Department of Commerce, Hikvision and Dahua have been implicated in the "high-technology surveillance" of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region.
The US banned imports of surveillance equipment made by the two companies in November last year, saying it posed "an unacceptable risk to national security".
Hikvision has said it was "categorically false" to paint the company as "a threat to national security".
After Marles' statements came out last week about removing Chinese-made cameras, Beijing accused Australia of "misusing national might to discriminate against and suppress Chinese enterprises".
"We hope Australia will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for the normal operations of Chinese enterprises," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.