The head of Australia’s national intelligence agency, Andrew Shearer, has announced the emergence of a “new axis” that provides Russia with comprehensive support and poses a serious threat to international stability. According to Shearer, the West is still not ready for this alliance, which unites Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, Reuters reports.
At the Raisina Downunder conference in Canberra, Shearer stressed that China provides Russia with economic and diplomatic support, as well as facilitates the supply of dual-use technologies, which, according to the intelligence officer, “keeps Putin’s army on the battlefield in Ukraine and leads to the deaths of civilian Ukrainians”.
The Australian intelligence officer also mentioned the supply of Iranian drones and the presence of North Korean missiles and military in Russia. According to the United States and South Korea, about 10,000 North Korean soldiers have already arrived in Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
“This is the strategic challenge of our time, and we are all trying to catch up with this threat and develop effective countermeasures,” Shearer said.
Australia, which is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, is seeking to strengthen measures to counter this “troubling axis”. Shearer, the chief security adviser to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, stressed that the new alliance of countries supports Russia and challenges the security of the democratic world.
