Jakarta speaks out against US spying
Play
China said it would step up security in the wake of revelations of United States surveillance facilities in American embassies and consulates in the region, while Indonesia strongly protested against such snooping, if proven, as "a serious violation of di
But official reaction in other Asian capitals on Wednesday, if any, remained muted to reports of surveillance facilities at embassies in Beijing, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Yangon, New Delhi and Islamabad.
In Washington, intelligence officials remained unapologetic, defending the practice of finding out what foreign leaders were thinking as something that other countries did as well.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said Beijing was “concerned about the continued revelations of eavesdropping and surveillance and is paying attention to how the situation develops”.
“We will take the necessary steps to resolutely maintain the security of our own information,” she said.
In Jakarta, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in a statement: “Indonesia cannot accept and has registered a strong protest at reports of surveillance facilities at the US embassy in Jakarta.”
He said Indonesia had spoken with the charge d’affaires of the US Embassy to seek an explanation over the reports.
“We have to stress that if confirmed, such actions do not just constitute a breach of security, but are also a serious violation of diplomatic norms and ethics and are certainly not in line with the spirit of friendly relations between countries,” Natalegawa said.
