The Chinese-based multi-purpose social media app WeChat has been banned by the Australian military for security reasons. It means that the aforementioned smartphone app will no longer be used by the Australian military.
In an official statement, released earlier this week, the Australian government's defense department said the ban was imposed because the service did not meet government safety standards.
"The Department of Defense of Australia will not authorize the use of software and applications on its defense networks and mobile devices that do not meet military security standards," the Department of Defense said in an emailed statement. WeChat is one such app that has been banned from use on the Australian military network from now on.
In November last year, the US military banned drones made by the Chinese DJI for safety reasons. According to a Homeland Security press release, DJI, believed to be the world's largest device manufacturer, is accused of sending data to servers located in China.
The mobile phone maker Huawei was also banned from partnering with the American AT&T.
In March of this year, Donald Trump specified in one of the public meetings that he does not want Chinese companies to enter into partnerships with US companies in any form. Indeed, the 45th president of the United States blocked the acquisition of Qualcomm by the Singapore-based company Broadcom, as the latter was backed by Chinese investors.
Analysts based in Australia say the ban on WeChat and other Chinese companies is very likely a political move, but is in line with other policies in other countries.
It is obvious that Australia is on the side of the US and the UK when it comes to national security. And they make decisions that reflect the goals of Western nations.
Li Yi, head of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that banning Chinese companies' products and services overseas seems more political than security concerns. However, he chose not to comment on the issue of Facebook and WhatsApp banned by the Chinese government.
WeChat is owned by the Chinese web giant Tencent and is said to have over 1 billion monthly active users.
The Australian military says it has evidence that the Chinese messaging and e-payment app acts like spyware and that it was discovered sending data to Chinese intelligence servers located in Beijing.