The New York Times has published claims the Australian Signals Directorate gathered intelligence for America during Indonesian trade negotiations last year.
It says a top-secret 2013 document obtained by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden showed the agency carried out surveillance on a US law firm representing Indonesia.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to comment on the matter, but says anything that is gathered is "for the benefit of our friends".
Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa says he cannot understand how the talks could be a security matter for Australia.
"I find that a bit mind-boggling and a bit difficult how I can connect or reconcile discussion about shrimps and how it impacts on Australia's security," he told reporters.
No comments:
Post a Comment