Australia–Indonesia Spying Scandal
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The Australia–Indonesia spying scandal developed from allegations made in 2013 by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' and the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
(ABC), based on leaked documents, that the
Australian Signals Directorate The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate, is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia responsible for signals intelligence, providing intelligence support to Australian military operations, con ...
had in 2009 attempted to monitor the mobile phone calls of Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...
, his wife
Kristiani Herawati Kristiani Herrawati Yudhoyono (6 July 1952 – 1 June 2019) was an Indonesian political and female activist, who was the wife of former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady of Indonesia from 2004 until 2014. She was also t ...
, and senior officials.


Background

Beginning in June 2013, reports from media outlets including ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' revealed operational details of the US
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
's
mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by Local government, local and federal governments or intell ...
of US and foreign nationals. The reports were based on a series of secret documents from 2009 leaked by former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...
. Further disclosures indicated that the NSA's surveillance operations extended to include the intelligence-gathering agencies of US allies, including the British
Government Communications Headquarters Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primari ...
and Australia's
Defence Signals Directorate The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate, is a Statutory body, statutory agency of the Australian Government, Government of Australia responsible for signals intelligence, providing intelligence support ...
, members of the
UKUSA The United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA, ) is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The alliance of intellig ...
or "Five Eyes" security agreement. In October 2013,
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
reported that German intelligence services had received "credible evidence" that Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been targeted by the NSA. Later that month reports from Der Spiegel and
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
stated that Australian embassies and diplomatic posts in Asia were being used to intercept phone calls and data, including during the
2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference __NOTOC__ The 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place at the Bali International Conference Centre, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, between December 3 and December 15, 2007 (though originally planned to end on 14 December). Representa ...
. In 2004 during the East Timor crisis, Indonesia bugged Australia's embassy in Jakarta and tried to recruit Australians as spies, retiring Indonesian intelligence chief General Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono admitted.


Response

The allegations prompted Indonesia to recall its ambassador to Australia, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, in November 2013. Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
initially declined to apologise or comment on the matter, prompting accusations from President Yudhoyono that he had "belittled" Indonesia's response to the issue. Speaking to
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, Abbott went on to argue that Australia "should not be expected to apologise for...reasonable intelligence-gathering activities". The next day, Indonesia responded by reviewing all areas of bilateral cooperation, including on issues around
people smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ...
, a major component of the
Abbott government The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...
's
Operation Sovereign Borders Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is a border protection operation led by the Australian Border Force, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia. The operation is the outcome of a 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 f ...
policy. The Australian government's response to the issue prompted criticism from current and former leaders in both countries, including former Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...
, former Vice President
Jusuf Kalla Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (; born 15 May 1942), commonly referred to by his initials JK, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve tw ...
, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, in addition to negative reporting in the Indonesian media. Demonstrations were also held outside Australia's embassy in Jakarta. In contrast,
Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
declined to criticise Abbott, instead emphasising the importance of the bilateral relationship, and arguing that the government's response should be a "Team Australia moment". Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer argued that the diplomatic response to the issue was "beyond the control" of Tony Abbott's government. The allegations, and Indonesia's response, attracted significant coverage in Indonesian and international media, particularly following allegations that the US
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
had attempted to monitor the mobile phone of
German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. Th ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
.


See also

* Australia-East Timor spying scandal


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia-Indonesia spying scandal 2013 controversies Spying scandal Espionage scandals and incidents 2013 in international relations