AFP raid ups China ante

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police have raided a Canberra apartment block housing Chinese embassy staff, it can be revealed for the first time.

With tensions between Canberra and Beijing escalating, officers launched a surprise raid in the middle of the night in May at the property in the suburb of Turner.

Witnesses saw armed police surround the heavily secured apartment complex in Canberra’s inner north and heard police shouting orders at the residents inside.

It cannot be confirmed which apartment was targeted by police, but neighbours said most of the apartments belong to diplomatic staff. If police deliberately targeted embassy staff it would escalate tensions between Beijing and Canberra, as diplomats are offered a level of political protection.

Asked if it was involved in the raid, ASIO said it did not comment on intelligence matters. The Chinese embassy refused to respond to questions about the incident.

When asked about the May raid, a spokesman for Attorney-General Christian Porter, who would have been required to sign warrants authorising the raids, said the Minister “doesn’t comment on operational or national security matters”.

The latest revelation comes days after Chinese media accused the Australian Federal

Police and ASIO of raiding Chinese journalists in Sydney in June as part of an investigation into foreign interference in Australia.

The raids, undertaken under a warrant, were part of an investigation into allegations of attempted Chinese infiltration of the NSW parliament through the office of upper house Labor MP

Shaoquett Moselmane, who denies any wrongdoing.

In actions widely viewed as retaliatory, two Australian reporters – Michael Smith from The Australian Financial Review and Bill Birtles from the ABC – were last week forced to flee China after the pair were questioned separately by China’s Ministry of State Security.