Australia puts national security on the 'balance' with Chinese investment

(Baonghean.vn) - Australian Finance Minister Scott Morrison said on August 8 that he is considering national security issues before deciding whether to allow a Chinese corporation to invest in Sydney's power grid system.

Sydney's Ausgrid electricity grid could be run by a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Photo: Bloomberg.

Scott Morrison is in the final stages of considering whether to grant a 99-year lease to China’s state-owned National Grid Corporation and Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Group to operate the Ausgrid national electricity network in New South Wales, worth more than A$10 billion ($7.6 billion).

“This was not an easy decision. National security was considered above all else,” said Mr. Scott Morrison.

Chinese investment, especially from state-owned companies, is a controversial issue in Australia as China becomes increasingly aggressive in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Last year, US President Barack Obama also raised the issue with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after Australia granted Chinese company Landbridge a 99-year lease on the strategically important Port of Darwin, which is also home to a US Navy training facility in northern Australia. Mr Turnbull said at the time that security and defence officials had determined the A$506 million contract did not threaten the national interest.

However, according to Mr. Peter Jennings, CEO of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the two contracts for leasing the port of Darwin and the Austgrid electricity network are closely related to national security. Mr. Jennings said that the Austgrid electricity network, operated by China, could be attacked by hackers, just as happened to the electricity network in Ukraine, operated by Russia.

“We need to consider the future scenario, where Australia no longer maintains a good relationship with China. Could they commit sabotage from within by attacking the power system in Sydney?” - Mr. Jennings expressed his opinion.

Meanwhile, Senator Nick Xenophone - who has a great influence on the government's regulation process - also said that the decision-making process for foreign investment projects currently lacks transparency. Mr. Nick Xenophone affirmed: "Leaving one of our largest electricity grid systems managed by a state-owned enterprise of another country is not taking into account the national interest."

Diep Khanh

(According to ABC News)