SYDNEY — Australia’s top universities said on Thursday the Trump administration had cut US funding to some of its researchers and asked others who receive US government financial support to prove their work was aligned with American interests.

The Group of Eight, a coalition of Australia’s most research-intensive universities, said the action could jeopardize crucial medical and defense research in the country.

Some researchers who receive funding from US federal agencies had been asked to assess their work’s compliance with US President Donald J. Trump’s agenda in a 36-point questionnaire, said the universities.

The survey included questions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that the Trump administration has been seeking to end. In some cases, recipients were only given 48 hours to respond, the Group of Eight said.

“We are extremely concerned about the broader implications of the Trump administration’s policy, not only for the future of health and medical research, but especially regarding defense collaboration,” the Group of Eight Chief Executive Officer Vicki Thomson said in a statement to Reuters.

The Group of Eight has sought Australian government intervention and is seeking urgent guidance from the US government, including a time extension to respond to the questionnaire, the statement said.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Canberra declined to comment. Australia’s Education ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Group of Eight universities carry out 70% of all university research in Australia and the US is their single largest global research partner.

The universities collectively received around $161.6 million in grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 2020 and 2024.

The universities said some researchers had received a “show cause” notification to justify ongoing funding over the past week and an extensive survey with questions relating to the Trump administration’s priorities and research collaboration with China, Russia, Cuba or Iran.

The questionnaire, issued by the US Office of Management and Budget and seen by Reuters, asked Australian researchers questions such as: “Can you confirm that this is no DEI project (sic) or DEI elements of the project?” and “Does this project take appropriate measures to protect women and to defend against gender ideology?”

It also asked them to rank their projects on a scale from 1-5 based on how it promoted US interests such as preventing illegal immigration, limiting the flow of illicit drugs into the country, “combatting Christian prosecution” and strengthening US supply chains. — Reuters

BEIJING — China’s embassy in New Zealand on Thursday accused Wellington’s top spy of lying after the intelligence chief warned of security risks posed by Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific.

In a speech in Wellington last week, New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service Director-General Andrew Hampton said the focus of Pacific nations on economic and transnational crime issues had opened the door for China to sign strategic deals with them that linked economic and security cooperation.

“The relevant remarks are totally baseless, all fabrication, and amount to spreading false information,” the Chinese embassy in Wellington said.

“For someone holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

In recent years, Beijing has struck deals with a number of Pacific nations, worrying New Zealand, a member of the Five Eye intelligence alliance along with Britain, the US, Canada, and Australia.

Mr. Hampton had last week said China wanted to “create competing regional architectures, and expand its influence with Pacific Island countries,” which posed foreign interference and espionage risks.

The Cook Islands, a self-governing Pacific nation in free association with New Zealand, is at the heart of recent tensions between China and New Zealand.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown traveled to China in February, signing a comprehensive strategic partnership deal with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. That angered Wellington, which complained about the lack of consultation and transparency around Mr. Brown’s visit.

Relevant cooperation documents have been made public, the Chinese statement said, adding that there is no “secret agenda” in China’s relations with the Cook Islands.

China’s embassy in Wellington also handles the country’s diplomatic relations with the island nations of Niue and the Cook Islands. — Reuters