FBI’s Visit Down Under to Ramp up Counter-Influence Efforts Against Beijing: Analysts

‘Its deterrent effect will not be apparent for some time to come but it is a step forward,' said Carl Schuster, an instructor at Hawaii Pacific University.
FBI’s Visit Down Under to Ramp up Counter-Influence Efforts Against Beijing: Analysts
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw (L) and FBI Director Kash Patel during Patel's visit to Australia in July 2025. Kash Patel via X
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The recent visit by FBI Director Kash Patel to Australia and New Zealand is aimed at melding counter-intelligence and influence efforts against Beijing, according to one defence expert.

“One enduring axiom of Chinese strategic thinking is that a politically divided nation is a weaker one,” said Carl Schuster, an instructor in the Department of History at Hawaii Pacific University, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

“Mao [Zedong, former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)] noted many years ago that political opinion drove democratic nations’ political will. So, modern China’s ‘Three Warfares’ doctrine (public opinion, media and lawfare) is intended to create those divisions.

Cindy Li
Cindy Li
Author
Cindy Li is an Australia-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on China-related topics. Contact Cindy at [email protected]
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