Indonesia recalls ambassador after leaked documents reveal Australia spied on president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Updated

Indonesia has recalled its ambassador and is reviewing all cooperation with the Australian government, over revelations Australia attempted to listen in to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's phone calls.

Documents obtained by the ABC and Guardian Australia show that Australian intelligence attempted to listen in to Mr Yudhoyono's telephone conversations on at least one occasion, and also targeted the phones of his wife, Ani Yudhoyono, and his inner circle.

Spies also tracked activity on Mr Yudhoyono's mobile phone for 15 days in August 2009, the material - leaked by the US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden - reveals.

Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa has called the spying unacceptable and accused Australia of violating individual privacy and human rights.

Indonesia is also vowing to review the placement of some Australian officials in Jakarta.

"This is an unfriendly, unbecoming act between strategic partners," Dr Natalegawa told reporters in Jakarta.

"In short, it has not been a good day in the Indonesia Australia relationship.

"We are not talking about the Cold War era. In the 21st century, the wiretapping issue should have been far behind us."

'I've got news for you' - We don't spy, says foreign minister

He also responded to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statement to Parliament that all governments gather information on each other.

Dr Natalegawa retorted: "I've got news for you. We don't do it."

Indonesian MP Tantowi Yahya, a prominent member of the Indonesian parliamentary foreign affairs commission, agrees, telling Lateline that spying amounted to Australia treating Indonesia like an enemy.

"We don't expect to be treated like this, to be treated like enemies or countries that ... bring threat to your national interests," he said.

He continued: "We never consider Australia as a threat, and I would think that Australia would think the same way towards Indonesia. I mean, we have been good neighbours for years, for so long, there is no information that we cannot get from both sides.

"[If] Australia needs certain information from us, we are more than happy to supply [it]. But doing such wiretapping is something that totally unacceptable between the two countries who have been so good and so friendly in the past."

Dr Natalegawa says he has ordered the Indonesian ambassador in Canberra to return home to Jakarta as soon as possible.

"It's impossible for an ambassador in foreign country to do their duty in the midst of an unfortunate situation like this," he said.

We don't expect to be treated like this, to be treated like enemies or countries that ... bring threat to your national interests. Indonesian MP Tantowi Yahya

"The summoning of the ambassador is not considered a light step, but it's a minimum step we can do to consolidate situation, and to show our firm but measured act."

Indonesia's powerful coordinating minister for legal, political and security affairs, Djoko Suyanto, is reportedly launching a review into all areas of cooperation between Canberra and Jakarta.

The ministry says it will contact Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop to let her know the issue will cause problems for the relationship.

Indonesia is demanding Australia make an "official and public explanation" and "commit not to repeat such actions".

The revelations came amid already heightened diplomatic tension over claims that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was involved in general spying on Indonesia.

This is an unfriendly, unbecoming act between strategic partners. This hasn't been a good day in the relationship between Indonesia and Australia. Marty Natalegawa

Indonesian presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah had earlier called on Australia to provide answers.

"The Australian Government urgently needs to clarify on this news, to avoid further damage," he said on Twitter.

"The damage has been done and now trust must be rebuilt."

Secret documents show Australia targeted highest-ranking politicians

The top-secret documents are from Australia's electronic intelligence agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, now called the Australian Signals Directorate.

The surveillance targets also included vice-president Boediono, former vice-president Yussuf Kalla, the foreign affairs spokesman, the security minister, and the information minister.

A number of intercept options are listed and a recommendation is made to choose one of them and to apply it to a target – in this case the Indonesian leadership.

The document shows how DSD monitored the call activity on Mr Yudhoyono's Nokia handset for 15 days in August 2009.

One page is titled "Indonesian President voice events" and provides what is called a CDR view. CDR are call data records; it can monitor who is called and who is calling but not necessarily what was said.

Another page shows that on at least one occasion Australian intelligence did attempt to listen in to one of Mr Yudhoyono's conversations.

But according to the notes on the bottom of the page, the call was less than one minute long and therefore did not last long enough to be successfully tapped.

Another of the names on the surveillance list was Hatta Rajasa, who was state secretary at the time of the spying and is now Indonesia's coordinating minister for economics.

"When I was the state secretary there were talks that shouldn't be made public," he told journalists.

"We have our own transparency law on information and there is no need to tap. State secrets are protected by the law and it shouldn't be made public.

"If the tapping were true, you know very well that it isn't good, it is not right. As I said, we need to clarify with the coordinating minister for legal, political and security affairs and I must not overreact."

Bishop says there are challenges in any relationship

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was asked about the reports in Question Time on Monday, but refused to comment on specifics.

"All governments gather information and all governments know that every other government gathers information," he told Parliament.

"The Australian Government never comments on specific intelligence matters. This has been the long tradition of governments of both political persuasions and I don't intend to change that today.

"I should also say that the Australian Government uses all the resources at its disposal, including information to help our friends and our allies, not to harm them."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop echoed that sentiment while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.

"There are always challenges in any relationship," she said, when asked if she thought the revelations had damaged Australia's relationship with Indonesia.

"That is why they need constant nurturing and attention and that is why I keep in close communication with foreign minister Natalegawa [and] with president Yudhoyono.

"We will continue to work closely with our counter part ministers to make sure the relationship is flourishing and is in the best interests of both countries and that is what we are seeking to achieve."

Mr Tantowi, however, rejected Mr Abbott's explanation of Australia's intelligence gathering activities and his suggestion that they were carried out for the good of Australia and its allies and better described as research.

"None of us in the parliament accepts that explanation," he told Lateline.

Dr Natalegawa described Mr Abbott's answers in Parliament as "dismissive, adding that spying "violates every single decent and legal instrument that I can think of".

Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who is a former intelligence officer, was also circumspect in his reaction.

"Give the agencies a break. Of course they're out there spying. Of course they're out there trying to listen into conversations of important people in other countries," he said.

"The issue for Australians is whether their rights are being protected by Australia's legislative framework.

"You know the fact that another country might spy on Australia, we can't tell the other country to stop. We're kidding ourselves if we think we can."

The head of Australia's domestic spy agency, meantime, says the Federal Government would be greatly concerned that confidential intelligence documents have been made public.

Asked to comment on the revelations, the director general of the Australian Intelligence and Security Organisation David Irvine said his agency had conducted a review of the extent of its intelligence sharing with the United States.

"This material that has been released by Mr Snowden, and is now in the public realm, is a matter for very great concern, and when that material is Australian material it's obviously of very great concern to the Australian government," he said.

China calls for clarification

Meanwhile, China - which usually does not comment on the affairs of other countries - has broken from protocol to comment on the reports of Australia's spying activities.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said not only should countries involved in the recent wave of eavesdropping allegations clarify and explain these reports, they should do some soul searching, respect international law and not do anything to harm another country's interests.

This is what they expect from diplomatic missions based in China, he said.

Greens say 'unregulated surveillance' damaging foreign relations

But Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says such surveillance should be reserved for terrorism suspects.

"It's surveillance over-reach come home to roost. What we're seeing here is ... unregulated surveillance by spying agencies now doing serious damage to our diplomatic relationships and to our reputation," he said.

"Are we seriously meant to accept that the president of Indonesia, his wife, his leadership team are a national security threat to Australia? Because if they're not - why are their phones being hacked?"

Former foreign affairs minister in the Howard government, Alexander Downer, is calling for a calm response from both sides.

"I think the challenge here is how to manage the foreign policy of this allegation and that's what we have to focus on," he said.

"And the way to handle the foreign policy of this allegation is ...to ensure that both sides respond calmly, that both sides understand the huge importance of the relationship to each other, and they move past these sorts of allegations."

Monash University Professor Greg Barton says it is another thorn in the side of the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

"It may well cause grief, at least in the short-term," he said.

"Provided that behind the scenes and in public this is dealt with satisfactorily on both sides, it shouldn't cause any long-term impediment.

"But the trouble with these things is, because they're out in public they have to be answered in public."

The documents are titled "3G impact and update" and appear to chart the attempts by Australian intelligence to keep pace with the rollout of 3G technology in Indonesia and across South-East Asia.

Topics: security-intelligence, defence-and-national-security, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, world-politics, federal-government, australia, asia, indonesia

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