Jakarta Globe – AFP, October 31, 2013
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| Australian Ambassador Greg Moriarty, right, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott during a forum with top Indonesian businessmen in Jakarta. (AFP \Photo/Romeo Gacad) |
The
government said Thursday it was summoning the Australian ambassador after a
report that his embassy in Jakarta was being used for surveillance as part of a
US-led spying network.
Ambassador
Greg Moriarty will face questions at the foreign ministry Friday over the
“totally unacceptable” activities reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, the
ministry said.
The report
said Australian embassies were being secretly used to intercept phone calls and
data across Asia as part of a US-led global spying network. It cited
information from fugitive analyst Edward Snowden and a former Australian
intelligence officer.
The paper
said the clandestine surveillance facilities at embassies were being operated
without the knowledge of most Australian diplomats.
The summons
was just the latest diplomatic fallout related to the US surveillance
controversy, which began as a row between Washington and its European allies.
“Responding
to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on October 31, 2013 about the
existence and use of wiretapping facilities at the Australian embassy in
Jakarta and other countries in the region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is
demanding an explanation from the Australian embassy in Jakarta,” the foreign
ministry statement said. “The Australian ambassador in Jakarta has been
summoned to come to the foreign ministry… on November 1, 2013, to provide an
official explanation from the Australian government about the report…. As a
friendly neighbouring country, such an act as reported does not reflect the
spirit of friendly relations which has been established and is something that’s
totally unacceptable to the government of Indonesia.”
A spokesman
for the Australian foreign ministry said: “As a matter of principle and
longstanding practice, the Australian government does not comment on
intelligence matters.”
Indonesia’s
anger came a day after it protested strongly to the United States after a
report in the same newspaper said Washington had been monitoring phone calls
and communication networks from its embassy in Jakarta.
The
Asia-Pacific row came after Europe and Washington traded more spying
accusations Wednesday, as envoys met to seek ways to rebuild trust after the
shock revelations about the scale and scope of US surveillance of its allies.
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