Australia moves to wall sensitive tech off from other countries

SYDNEY • Australia announced measures yesterday to ring-fence dozens of sensitive technologies from foreign interference, stepping up efforts to safeguard against "national security risks" from China and others.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a list of 63 "critical technologies" to be promoted and protected at an online forum hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Sydney - a step towards limiting what government, industry and universities can and cannot share with foreign counterparts.

The list includes 5G communications, quantum technologies, 3D printing, drones and vaccines.

The measures aim to "balance the economic opportunities of critical technologies with their national security risks", Mr Morrison said.

Items on the list will not be automatically banned for export or proscribed, but may be subject to "additional risk management".

Australia has become increasingly concerned about the transfer of sensitive technology to foreign military powers, particularly to China, under the guise of academic cooperation. It has also moved to limit the ability of Chinese state-linked firms to operate critical infrastructure in Australia.

Mr Morrison yesterday also listed nine critical technologies that will be the focus for investment, hoping the expertise will help "uphold our liberal democratic traditions" in an era of "strategic competition".

"The simple fact is that nations at the leading edge of technology have greater economic, political and military power," he said. "And, in turn, greater capacity to influence the norms and values that will shape technological development in the years to come."

The list includes a range of nuclear technologies linked to power generation, space travel, reprocessing and isotope production - a marked departure for a country that has long been opposed to fission power and currently has only one research reactor.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE