Sun Feb 16, 2014
The Australian government concedes spying on Indonesian firms, saying the operation meant to ensure the interests of Canberra’s allies.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Canberra government has conducted surveillance operations to ensure the interests of the country's allies.
"We never comment on operational intelligence matters, that has been the long-standing practice of all Australian governments of both political persuasions," Abbott told reporters on Sunday, adding, "We use it for the benefit of our friends. We use it to uphold our values."
"We use it to protect our citizens and the citizens of other countries, and we certainly don't use it for commercial purposes."
Abbott’s remarks followed fresh revelations that Canberra has spied on Indonesia.
Based on a top secret document leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its Australian counterpart have spied on an American law firm that was representing Indonesia in trade disputes with Washington.
The relations between Jakarta and Canberra plunged last November after reports emerged that Australia had tried to tap the phones of Indonesian officials in 2009.
The reports also showed that the Australian diplomatic missions have helped the US to monitor phone calls and other communications in the Asia-Pacific region. The intelligence activities took place in several Australian Embassies located in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
The NSA scandal took even broader dimensions when Snowden revealed information about NSA espionage activities targeting friendly countries.
Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaked two top secret US government spying programs under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/350962.html.
The Australian government concedes spying on Indonesian firms, saying the operation meant to ensure the interests of Canberra’s allies.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Canberra government has conducted surveillance operations to ensure the interests of the country's allies.
"We never comment on operational intelligence matters, that has been the long-standing practice of all Australian governments of both political persuasions," Abbott told reporters on Sunday, adding, "We use it for the benefit of our friends. We use it to uphold our values."
"We use it to protect our citizens and the citizens of other countries, and we certainly don't use it for commercial purposes."
Abbott’s remarks followed fresh revelations that Canberra has spied on Indonesia.
Based on a top secret document leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its Australian counterpart have spied on an American law firm that was representing Indonesia in trade disputes with Washington.
The relations between Jakarta and Canberra plunged last November after reports emerged that Australia had tried to tap the phones of Indonesian officials in 2009.
The reports also showed that the Australian diplomatic missions have helped the US to monitor phone calls and other communications in the Asia-Pacific region. The intelligence activities took place in several Australian Embassies located in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
The NSA scandal took even broader dimensions when Snowden revealed information about NSA espionage activities targeting friendly countries.
Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaked two top secret US government spying programs under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/350962.html.
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