Malaysia summons Singapore envoy over spying report
-
Malaysia summons Singapore envoy over spying report
Tue, Nov 26, 2013
Malaysia summoned the high commissioner from neighbouring Singapore on Tuesday over a media report that said the city-state helped facilitate US-Australian surveillance in the region.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman had already summoned the heads of the US and Australian missions earlier in November in protest over reports that a vast US-led surveillance network included a listening post in America's Malaysian embassy.
Malaysia is "extremely concerned" about the Singapore report, foreign minister Anifah Aman said in a statement.
"If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter that the Government of Malaysia strongly rejects and abhors," he said.
Singapore's High Commissioner, Ong Keng Yong, confirmed to AFP by phone that he would be visiting the foreign ministry at midday.
Monday's report in the Sydney Morning Herald said Singapore and South Korea were playing key roles in a "Five Eyes" intelligence network involving the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
It quoted a top-secret US National Security Agency (NSA) map that it said was published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.
As a major hub for regional telecommunications traffic, high-tech Singapore was an important link in the surveillance network, it said.
The United States is struggling to dampen a global controversy over its eavesdropping activities.
Based on leaks by fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, the revelations have included reports that the NSA monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone and sparked a trans-Atlantic rift.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported earlier this month that a map leaked by Snowden showed 90 US surveillance facilities at diplomatic missions worldwide including in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, sparking anger in some of those countries.
The latest report comes as Malaysia and Singapore move to put decades of testy relations behind them, working together on real estate development along their border and pushing plans for closer transport links.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/malaysia-summons-singapore-envoy-over-spying-report-040440802.html
-
not sure how true is the revelation. so far no Singapore official has commented on the matter.
-
Gawd....
-
Shabery: Malaysia will not help US spy on Singapore
NOVEMBER 28, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Despite claims that Singapore was aiding the US to spy on Malaysia, Putrajaya does not intend to do the same, a minister here said yesterday.
”We could also think of ways to do the same, but we won’t and should not do this,” Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Shabery Cheek was quoted as saying by The Star today.
According to The Star, Shabery said Putrajaya was still finding out if the country’s security was breached, adding that the government would issue a strong protest with the US if it had evidence of the breach.
In a statement on Tuesday, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman related that Singapore’s envoy Ong Keng Yong assured him that the country meant no harm and promised to clarify the spying claims to Wisma Putra as soon as possible.
Singapore daily, Straits Times, also reported on Tuesday the envoy had denied knowledge the republic had helped facilitate American-Australian espionage in the region.
”We have no interest in doing anything that might harm our partners or the friendship between our two countries,” Ong, who is the Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia, had said.
But Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Malaysian government took a serious view of the spy claims as Singapore is its closest neighbour, and demanded the republic show proof it had not conduct any espionage activity.
“Whatever information that we have, anything that concerns espionage that is mentioned by anyone related to our country is something that we don’t take lightly.
“If Singapore says that this is not true, then it must provide us with information to refute the allegation and the proof that it is not true,” he told reporters after closing the Practical Training on National Cyber Crisis 2013 (X-Maya 5) yesterday.
Members of Perkasa protesting over spy claims at the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, November 27, 2013. — Picture by Saw Siow FengYesterday, Malay rights group Perkasa’s youth wing demanded that Singapore apologise to Malaysia over the alleged spying activities, with its leader Irwan Fahmi Ideris saying that failure to do so would mean that the republic is “rude” and disrespectful.Recently, top secret documents leaked by US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden showed that Singapore, which was once a part of Malaysia before breaking off in 1965, is a key partner of the “5-Eyes” intelligence group led by the United States, which was revealed to have tapped telephones and monitored communications networks in Kuala Lumpur.
In a report by Australian media group Fairfax Media last Sunday quoting Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, it was revealed that Singapore, which is one of the US’ closest allies, is a key “third party” providing the ring - comprising the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - access to Malaysia’s communications channel.
In August, Fairfax had reported that the Singaporean intelligence is a partner of Australia’s electronic espionage agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, to tap the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany.
This access was allegedly facilitated by Singaporean telecommunication operator Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), which is owned by Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek Holdings.
According to Fairfax, Malaysia and Indonesia had been key targets for both Australian and Singaporean intelligence even since the 1970s, since most of Indonesia’s telecommunications and Internet traffic goes through the island city-state.
-
Good luck to those Singaporean who own properties in Malaysia.
-
"But Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Malaysian government took a serious view of the spy claims as Singapore is its closest neighbour, and demanded the republic show proof it had not conduct any espionage activity. “Whatever information that we have, anything that concerns espionage that is mentioned by anyone related to our country is something that we don’t take lightly. “If Singapore says that this is not true, then it must provide us with information to refute the allegation and the proof that it is not true,� he told reporters after closing the Practical Training on National Cyber Crisis 2013 (X-Maya 5) yesterday." stupid....they should show proof that we spied on them, instead of we having to show proof that we did not spy on them! Their DPM has no brain to make such comment. it is akin to hauling a person to court and he is presumed guilty unless he can prove that he is not.