Chinese military researchers in Aust unis
Chinese military scientists regularly work undercover in Australian universities on high tech weapons and communications research, a new report has found.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has found about 2500 Chinese scientists and engineers from the People's Liberation Army have studied in foreign universities since 2007.
The study claimed some of those Chinese scientists hid their military affiliations while working overseas in areas such as hypersonic missiles and navigation technology.
Author Alex Joske described the practice as a "military-academic onslaught", which had flown under Western radars and risks "harming the West's strategic advantage".
"Nearly all PLA scientists sent abroad are Chinese Communist Party members who return to China on time (rather than extend their term)," the report says.
Mr Joske said Chinese military scientists told universities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia that they were affiliated with civilian universities in China.
But he said they mainly came from Chinese military research arms, and they worked on sensitive weapons and communications projects when overseas.
"The PLA Daily uses the saying 'picking flowers in foreign lands to make honey in China' to explain how it seeks to leverage overseas expertise, research and training to develop better military technology," the report says.
Mr Joske said the Chinese military used the practice to take sensitive weapons and communications research from overseas.
The University of New South Wales has the second-highest number of research papers published with Chinese military scientists, behind Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
Australian National University, based in Canberra, is eighth on that list.
The report recommended governments should work to restrict transfers of sensitive technologies to members of non-allied militaries and better scrutinise visa applications from Chinese military scientists.
Meanwhile, Australia's secretary of Defence Greg Moriarty and Defence Force Chief General Angus Campbell visited Beijing on Monday for an annual meeting with Chinese military bosses.
General Campbell said the Australia-China Defence Strategic Dialogue was a useful forum in which frank and open discussions on regional challenges could occur.
"This year's exchange of views was again productive and included discussions on maintaining regional peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea," General Campbell said after the meeting.
In a recent hearing, Defence officials warned they needed powers to search and enter universities, as some technology being developed in Australia could be used for weapons.
