Asia being snooped on, too
Spying by foreign
intelligence agencies is also prevalent in Malaysia and other regional
countries via the Internet or spying equipment located in embassies.
SO last week it was the turn of Asians to learn that their region was also the subject of foreign spying.
This was no surprise. If American intelligence is spying on
Americans, on Latin Americans, and on Europeans (including its top
political leader, Angela Merkel of Germany), it is a foregone conclusion
that Asia would not be left out.
There is no revelation yet that Asian prime ministers and presidents have had their personal mobile phones and e-mails tapped.
But it is also a foregone conclusion that these things are
happening. Be prepared, therefore, to read in the coming weeks about
famous Asian leaders, opposition stalwarts, journalists and celebrities
being the subjects of snooping.
Nevertheless, the news that American and Australian embassies are
being used to snoop on Asian countries justifiably caused outrage in our
region. The Australian surveillance is reportedly in cooperation with
the United States.
Malaysia is one of the places where Australian intelligence operates to spy, according to reports in the
Der Spiegel and
Sydney Morning Herald. They revealed that the spying takes place from the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
Other Asian countries where the intelligence collection is conducted
is the Australian embassies in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea.
The news reports also revealed that the US embassies have also been
conducting surveillance activities in many Asian countries including
Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Malaysia last Friday registered its protests in official notes
handed to the Australian High Commissioner and the US Deputy Chief of
Mission who were summoned to Wisma Putra. The notes warned that
surveillance of close friends could severely damage relations.
Indonesia warned the United States and Australia that the
continuation of surveillance facilities inside their embassies
threatened to derail years of trust built up between countries.
China also responded to the report that the American embassy in
Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Chengdu operated special spying
facilities.
Its Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from the United
States, saying that “foreign entities must not in any form engage in
activities that are incompatible with their status and that are harmful
to China’s national security and interest”.
Also last Friday, Brazil and Germany introduced a draft resolution
to a United Nations General Assembly committee calling for an end to
excessive surveillance.
The press reports on spying in Asian countries are based on
information leaked by Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the US
National Security Agency.
Newspapers and magazines had previously revealed that the personal
phones of the German chancellor and the Brazilian president had been
tapped. Both leaders have registered protests directly to US President
Barack Obama.
Last week also saw revelations by the Washington Post that the US
and British intelligence agencies had found a way of intercepting
communications from Google as well as Yahoo as the data were being
passed between their data centres.
“We are outraged at the lengths to which the government seems to have gone,” said Google’s chief legal officer.
The Internet giant companies have found that their encryptment
system protecting e-mail and other information flowing through its data
centres is not secure after all.
The technology companies are worried that their millions of
customers will no longer trust that their privacy will be protected.
How will this affect the use of browsing, e-mail, Facebook and other facets of the Internet technology?
US companies and entities currently dominate the global Internet
business. Much of the world’s flow of data go through Internet companies
based in the United States.
The US administration had projected itself as an honest host of the
Internet centres, respecting the rights and privacy of the world’s
Internet and e-mail users, and a champion of Internet freedom.
That image has been shattered by the series of revelations emerging
from Snowden’s leaked files. The opposite image has replaced it, of a
government that has used high technology to gather billions of bits of
data on practically all Internet users.
If counter-terrorism was the official reason, this now seems to be
only a pretext for also spying on any important person, including one’s
closest allies.
Now that they have lost confidence that the United States or other
countries will respect privacy of the politicians, companies and
citizens of their countries, some governments are now planning to limit
the reach of American-based Internet companies.
The Financial Times reported that Brazil is planning
regulations that would force technology companies to retain information
on the Internet about its citizens and institutions within Brazil
itself.
It also said that European officials are discussing the need to have
stronger cloud computing capabilities in Europe to protect their
citizens’ privacy.
Brazil is also planning to bring up in various UN agencies and fora
the need for a global framework to respect and protect privacy on the
Internet.
Contributed by Global Trends Martiin Khor
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
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Malaysia views spying seriously
KLUANG: Spying activities on Malaysia by its allies is a serious matter, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
This is because it can cause relations between Malaysia and these
countries, long established based on trust and sincerity, to be tense.
“I believe if this (spying) is not fully explained, our
long-established good relations can be adversely affected. Therefore, we
need a full explanation on the extent of the spying activities and for
what purpose.
“Tensions can be avoided if the allies involved uphold the trust and sincerity in their relations with Malaysia,” he said.
Hishammuddin said this to reporters after attending a Deepavali open
house hosted by Johor Unity and Human Resources Committee chairman
R.Vidyanathan here yesterday.
The spying issue arose following
media reports on the claim made by intelligence informant Edward Snowden
that the United States had 90 electronic surveillance facilities
throughout the world, including at its embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
In light of this, Hishammuddin wanted a detailed explanation on the
matter as such activities could threaten Malaysia’s security and its
other interests.
The US ambassador to Malaysia, Joseph Y. Yun, was reported to have explained on the spying claim to Wisma Putra.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Yun had stated that all
surveillance activities by the United States throughout the world were
specifically for security, to detect threats of terrorism and weapons of
mass destruction.
On his trip to China last month, Hishammuddin
said it was aimed at enhancing cooperation in the area of defence,
especially through joint exercises, exchange programmes involving navy
and other military officers, establishing cooperation between the
defence industries of both countries, and efforts to combat terrorism
and transnational crime.
Meanwhile in Yan, Inspector-General of
Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said they would arrest any foreign
diplomat found to be involved in spying activities.
“We will not
hesitate because spying is a threat to the country’s sovereignty. In
the 1980s, we have arrested foreign diplomats involved in spying
activities.
“We will do the same again if there is proof of such
activities,” he told newsmen after a briefing on the Sungai Limau
by-election at the Yan police headquarters yesterday.
- The Star/Asia News Network Monday Nov 4, 2013
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