"This is the economic limb of a policy that seeks to neutralise China," Kelsey said. "The other one is military."

Kelsey said the negotiations over IP were being conducted with an obsessive level of secrecy.

Details of the negotiations would not be released until four years after agreement has been signed, which she said effectively prevented officials from being held accountable.

What little was known about TPP had come out as a result of leaks around the ACTA negotiations, which Kelsey said provided "some idea of what was on the table". This included globalising existing US laws, extending copyright terms, the "current ask is 90 years," criminalising small scale copyright infringement, and establishing exclusive rights over imports of copyrighted material.

"Writing laws for the indefinite future behind closed doors is not an acceptable option," Kelsey said.