According to the English edition of the Global Times, Chinese experts say it is "narrow nationalism" that has inspired the Australian Ministry of Defence to ban workers and active workers from using WeChat, a Chinese social media app, and warned that The decision could hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and further tighten Sino-Australian relations.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday that the Australian Ministry of Defence has banned staff and active personnel from downloading WeChat APP, on their mobile phones for work. The move highlights growing concerns about Chinese espionage. The Sydney-based business and financial media said the Defense Department still allows Facebook (Facebook).
The decision follows former defense chief Dennis Richardson (Dennis Richardson) who said Chinese spies were "very active" in Australia, the report said. Australia`s top intelligence agency announced in 2017 that it was "overwhelmed" by foreign espionage.
Li Yi, a senior researcher at the Internet Research Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the Australian government`s decision reflected "narrow nationalism" and no flexibility.
Canberra is demonstrating its strong desire to cater to US interests in the region by curbing China, he said.
The Sydney Morning Frontier reported last month that the Australian Ministry of Defence was also phasing out Huawei and ZTE phones after chief U.S. intelligence officers issued direct safety warnings about Chinese telecoms companies Huawei and ZTE`s products.
Australia "requires Beijing to open up to American-backed services such as Facebook while banning Chinese apps for its own benefit," Yu Lei, a researcher at the Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province, said. Yu Lei) told the Global Times.
Canberra, he said, should stop destroying relations with Beijing.
Li Yi said Tencent and other Chinese internet service providers must have enough room to negotiate when it comes to resolving so-called security issues.
Li Yi also cited the case of Apple and Amazon moving data servers to China, arguing that Tencent could do the same for overseas businesses.
