[The reports were based on a secret National Security Agency document that was leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden and first published by Der Spiegel. The Sydney newspaper, part of the Fairfax Media group, also included information provided by an unidentified former Australian intelligence officer.]
By William Wan
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“Indonesia strongly protests the existence of a tapping facility in
the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta ,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said. “If
it’s confirmed, such action is not only a breach of security, but also a
serious violation of diplomatic norms and ethics, and certainly not in tune
with the spirit of friendly relations between nations.”
The
Asian leaders were reacting to a report this week in the German magazine Der
Spiegel and a Sydney Morning Herald article Thursday that named cities in
which embassies are used for electronic surveillance by the United States,
Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand — a group of intelligence partners
known as the “5-eyes.”
The
reports were based on a secret National Security Agency document that was
leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden and first published by Der Spiegel.
The Sydney newspaper, part of the Fairfax Media group, also included
information provided by an unidentified former Australian intelligence officer.
Code-named
STATEROOM, the program used disguised surveillance equipment in about 80
embassies and consulates worldwide, the Herald reported, adding that the
equipment is concealed in roof maintenance sheds or as features of the building
itself.
Nineteen
of the diplomatic facilities are in Europe . The Asian embassies involved include those in Jakarta ; Bangkok ; Hanoi ; Beijing ; Dili, East
Timor ; Kuala Lumpur ,
Malaysia Port
Moresby , Papua New Guinea
Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott declined to discuss the Herald report in detail, but
he told reporters, “Every Australian governmental agency,
every Australian official at home and abroad operates in accordance with the
law, and that’s the assurance that I can give people at home and abroad.”
In
an interview with the Associated Press, Australian intelligence expert Desmond
Ball said he had seen covert antennas in five of the embassies named in the
Australian media report. But Ball, a professor with the Australian
National University Defense Studies Center
Notably
absent from the list of countries reportedly under surveillance in the program
are the staunchest U.S. allies in Asia , Japan and South Korea . This week, Japanese media reported that
the NSA had asked the Japanese government in 2011 for permission to tap
fiber-optic cables in Japan , which carries much traffic throughout East Asia , as
a way to collect surveillance on China . But the Japanese government refused, citing legal hurdles
and lack of manpower.
On
Wednesday, in response to reports of U.S. surveillance of European leaders, the
Chinese Foreign Ministry called cybersecurity “a matter of sovereignty” and
said China was taking steps to increase its security, as well as
joining Russia in backing a U.N. proposal to address such surveillance.
According
to U.S. security experts, Chinese cyberspies, including hackers affiliated with
the Chinese military, have stolen industrial secrets for years and have penetrated powerful Washington institutions, including
law firms, think tanks, news organizations, human rights groups, contractors,
congressional offices, embassies and federal agencies.
Malaysian
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his government takes the reports
seriously and is trying to confirm whether such intelligence gathering had
taken place. “It is a sensitive issue since it involves several countries,”
Zahid said.
The
opposition party criticized Malaysia ’s government for being too “submissive” in its reaction to
the United
States .
Lt.
Gen. Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary-general of Thailand ’s National Security Council, said his government would
tell Washington that such surveillance is against Thai law and that Thai
security agencies have been put on alert.
If
asked, Paradorn said, Thailand would not cooperate with such U.S. spying programs. But he also emphasized that “we believe
that Thailand and the U.S. still enjoy good and cordial relations.”
PAKISTANI POLITICALLEADER SAYS NATO SUPPLY ROUTES WILL BE CUT IF U.S. DRONE STRIKES CONTINUE
[The supply routes were established when U.S. and NATO forces began pouring into landlocked Afghanistan after the Taliban’s ouster in late 2001, but the routes were closed for seven months between late 2011 and 2012 after a U.S. airstrike on the border of the two countries killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.Pakistan allowed the NATO convoys to restart in July 2012 after Hillary Rodham Clinton, then secretary of state, apologized for the incident.]
[The supply routes were established when U.S. and NATO forces began pouring into landlocked Afghanistan after the Taliban’s ouster in late 2001, but the routes were closed for seven months between late 2011 and 2012 after a U.S. airstrike on the border of the two countries killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
By
Imran Khan, whose Movement for
Justice party controls the northwestern province, said he feared that continued
drone strikes would undermine efforts by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to hold peace talks with
the Pakistani Taliban. Sharif said Thursday that dialogue has begun, though
Taliban officials stress that the process will quickly unravel if the U.S. drone program is not halted. The latest suspected strike
occurred Wednesday night.
“If drone attacks are carried out during peace talks with
Taliban, NATO supplies will be stopped,” Khan told reporters at a news
conference in the eastern city of Lahore .
It was the second time in less than a week that Khan has
suggested that local officials could impede NATO convoys passing through
northwestern Pakistan to and from the war in Afghanistan . U.S. and NATO officials had no immediate comment, but Khan’s
threat comes as the U.S. military plans to transport hundreds of millions of
dollars’ worth of equipment on Pakistani highways ahead of the planned
withdrawal of forces by the end of next year.
The supply routes were established when U.S. and NATO forces
began pouring into landlocked Afghanistan after the Taliban’s ouster in late
2001, but the routes were closed for seven months between late 2011 and 2012
after a U.S. airstrike on the border of the two countries killed 24 Pakistani
soldiers. Pakistan allowed the NATO convoys to restart in July 2012 after
Hillary Rodham Clinton, then secretary of state, apologized for the incident.
The U.S. military is moving out the bulk of its equipment from Afghanistan via those routes, the most cost-effective option. The NATO
convoys pass through either Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or the southwestern province
of Baluchistan Karachi .
Both routes have been vulnerable to attacks from militants,
and shipments have at timesstalled at the border in
recent months because of corruption and the Afghan government’s insistence that
the United
States pay
millions of dollars in customs fees. But Pakistan ’s government has an agreement with the United States allowing the transports through 2015, and Pakistani
security officials help secure the routes.
Although Sharif has also tried in the past to tie the
supply routes to the drone issue, he has stressed since taking office in June
that he hopes for improved relations with the United States. If Khan’s
provincial government follows through on its threat, analysts say, Sharif will
have little choice but to step in and exert his constitutional authority to
oversee foreign affairs.
“The federal government would be embarrassed and be in
a very unpalatable situation of having to act,” said Khalid Aziz, former chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “It would lead to a political crisis.”
a very unpalatable situation of having to act,” said Khalid Aziz, former chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “It would lead to a political crisis.”
Tariq Azeem Khan, a former senator and spokesman for the
Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, said Imran Khan’s comments showed his
“political naivete.”
“Because police come under the local provincial
administration, they might try to block them, but without the consensus of the
central government, they will not succeed,” he said.
Imran Khan, a former international cricket star, mounted a vigorous
campaign in Pakistani parliamentary elections this year by stressing his
opposition to the drone strikes and calling for a tougher stance against U.S. policy in the region. His party finished third in the national election but
won enough seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to form a coalition government there.
From that perch, Khan has maintained his profile as a
leading champion of peace talks and an end to the U.S. drone strikes. Under pressure from Khan and others
domestically, Sharif has also publicly stressed his opposition to the strikes,
even though a recent Washington Post report noted that past Pakistani leaders
were frequently briefed on the progress of the U.S. drone campaign.
On Thursday, Sharif’s government condemned a suspected U.S. drone strike the night before targeting suspected
militants in North Waziristan . No one was killed in the strike, local officials said.
“There is an across-the-board consensus [in Pakistan ] that these drone strikes must end,” the Foreign Ministry
said in a statement.
After a meeting at the House last week, Sharif and
President Obama issued a joint statement pledging “robust bilateral defense
cooperation” in a number of areas, including the movement of NATO cargo through
Pakistan .
Shaiq Hussain in Islamabad Washington
