Review of Chinese-Leased Port of Darwin Complete: Australian Defence Department

The Australian Defence Department has completed its appraisal of the arguable Chinese-leased Port of Darwin, signalling an impending determination from the national authorities connected whether to scrap the deal.

Peter Tesch, lawman caput of strategy and argumentation astatine the Department of Defence (DOD), said the review, which the nationalist information committee ordered successful May, had been handed to the government.

“We are present moving with different agencies astir facilitating information by the authorities of that information,” helium told a Senate Estimates proceeding connected Oct. 27.

The reappraisal besides encompassed a woody wherever a Chinese-backed institution acquired a 50 percent stock successful the Port of Newcastle successful March 2018, but nary contiguous concerns were found.

The reappraisal was ordered earlier this twelvemonth pursuing the termination of 2 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreements signed betwixt Victoria’s authorities person Daniel Andrews and Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who exercised the caller powers granted to her nether the Foreign Relations Act, ordered the cancellation, citing a struggle with Australia’s nationalist interest.

The recently legislated instrumentality besides opened the doorway for different deals signed with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated bodies to beryllium scrapped, including Confucius Institutes and sister-city agreements.

However, the Port of Darwin has been a important root of interest among defence experts and governmental leaders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison successful precocious April said helium would not hesitate to terminate the woody if advised to.

“If determination is proposal from the Defence Department oregon our information agencies that alteration their presumption astir the nationalist information implications of immoderate portion of captious infrastructure,” Morrison told reporters connected April 29. “We person authorities present which is dealing with captious infrastructure.”

“You tin expect maine arsenic premier curate to instrumentality that proposal precise earnestly and enactment accordingly,” helium added, noting that specified a determination would beryllium carried retired by the treasurer nether amendments to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018.

In 2015, the heavy indebted Northern Territory authorities leased the strategically located Darwin Port to Chinese state-owned steadfast Landbridge for AU$506 cardinal (US$382 million).

The determination raised eyebrows from U.S. officials, with erstwhile U.S. President Barack Obama conveying his concerns directly to then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

In response, Morrison—who was treasurer astatine the time—expanded the remit of the Foreign Investment Review Board truthful that each Australian plus income to overseas entities would beryllium taxable to national approval.

In 2016, the billionaire proprietor of Landbridge, Ye Cheng, boasted that acquiring the Port of Darwin would assistance with the enlargement of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The BRI is the CCP’s trillion-dollar planetary infrastructure gathering money and arguably the “crown jewel” of Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions.

However, it has been accused of being a “trojan horse,” leaving processing countries heavy successful indebtedness and perchance being leveraged for subject oregon spying purposes.