Australia ‘profoundly troubled’ by emerging axis of countries supporting Russia

The head of Australia‘s national intelligence agency said it was troubling to see an “emerging axis” of countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine emerge as allies of the Kremlin mounted a challenge for western countries supporting Kyiv.

Andrew Shearer, who leads the government’s Office of National Intelligence (ONI), said North Korea, Iran, and more significantly China, posed a “strategic challenge” for countries including Canberra as the war dragged on.

He said the emerging axis, which has China and Russia as its main pillars, had been underestimated since the war began as Beijing emboldened Moscow by providing dual-use goods as well as economic and diplomatic support.

"The massive provision by China of dual-use assistance to Putin, and economic support and diplomatic support is keeping Putin’s army in the field in Ukraine, killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles," Mr Shearer said at the Raisina Downunder conference in Canberra.

He said Iran supported Vladimir Putin by providing Shahed drones while North Korea built closer ties with cooperation expanding beyond weapons and thousands of troops have poured into Russian training grounds.

"This is a profoundly troubling strategic development and we are all grappling to catch up with it and put in place effective measures, but I think this is one of the strategic challenges of our time," Mr Shearer said.

China has been accused of aiding Moscow’s war machine by providing critical components with over 70 per cent of the machine tools and 90 per cent of the microelectronics Russia import coming from Beijing.

In May, the US announced sanctions on about 20 firms based in China and Hong Kong for exporting consignments of drone components and electronics to Russia.

China has, however, denied the allegation of aiding war and said Beijing oversees the export of dual-use materials in accordance with laws and regulations.

An analysis of Chinese customs data by the Carnegie Endowment think tank showed that China exported more than $300m worth of dual-use items to Russia every month. It included the supply of both commercial and military applications items.

Adding to the concerns, the US, South Korea, UK and Ukraine have confirmed North Korea has said soldiers, numbering beyond 10,000, in Russia with president Volodymyr Zelensky confirming that the troops had entered the fight.

“The first battles with North Korean soldiers mark a new chapter of global instability,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Together with the world, we must do everything to ensure that this Russian step toward expanding the war – this true escalation – becomes a loss,” he said.

Australia remains a close partner of the US, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, the countries which are also part of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership.

The Albanese government has given more than AUD$1.1bn ($724m) since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.