Australia’s cancellation of China university ties fuels security debate

Australia has forced two universities to end collaborations with Chinese institutions, turning academic partnerships into the latest front in the country’s security debate.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong terminated a nine-year-old agreement between the Australian National University and Shandong University on Aug. 10. The arrangement allowed undergraduate science students to study at both universities. She also ordered the University of Queensland to end a research collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences on proteins from the native Australian stinging tree that could be used for pain relief.

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protect sensitive research, sovereign capability and national security

Wong did not specify the reasons for the decisions. She said only that the government acted to “protect sensitive research, sovereign capability and national security”. The Straits Times reported that the moves were based on security concerns and advice from intelligence agencies.

The cancellations are believed to be the first time the federal government has terminated university arrangements with China. They have raised questions about Australia’s oversight of academic links with Chinese institutions, particularly as China remains Australia’s largest trading partner and a major source of international students.

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They signal that the government is starting to take research security much more seriously

Research-security expert Brendan Walker-Munro said the reasons for ending the two arrangements were not fully clear, but supported stronger safeguards. He said the Shandong programme may have been linked to a US decision to place the university on a list of institutions involved in “problematic activities”. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has also reportedly warned of links between Shandong University and China’s nuclear-weapons research establishment.

Walker-Munro said the University of Queensland case was harder to interpret. He suggested the proteins under study could potentially be weaponised for crowd control or as a chemical warfare agent. “They signal that the government is starting to take research security much more seriously,” he said. “Our universities also need to start taking it more seriously. They need to start making these calls before the government does.”

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Our universities also need to start taking it more seriously. They need to start making these calls before the government does.