Once again Canberra's turn to hawk conspiracy theory

It seems to be contagious - no sooner does one Western politician engage in some character assassination of China than another pops up to do the same.

The latest verbal bullets have been fired by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who alleged on Monday that a "sophisticated state actor" was behind a cyberattack on the Australian Parliament's computing network.

Although he did not name it, it has been assumed that he was insinuating China was responsible, given this is not the first time that Canberra's anxiety-driven willingness to emulate Washington has prompted it to lay the responsibility for alleged spying at Beijing's door.