The Malaysian government stands in solidarity with China and South-East Asian governments in demanding explanations from the American government and its allies regarding  shocking media reports that American and Australian embassies in the region have been used as intelligence hubs for Washington‘s secret electronic data collection programme called ‘Stateroom’.

Earlier this week, German magazine Der Spiegel published a document from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, describes a signals intelligence programme called ‘Stateroom’ in which US, British, Australian and Canadian embassies secretly house surveillance equipment to collect electronic communications. Those countries, along with New Zealand, have an intelligence-sharing agreement known as ‘Five Eyes’.

There has been a deafening outcry internationally over damning allegations that US has spied on telephone communications of up to 35 foreign leaders.

At a time when our national security is at risk, where are the activists? Why are so many supposedly vocal NGOs so quiet with not even a squeak from any of them over this infringement of privacy and security? This is the time for concerned citizens to protest but we can hear a pin drop in their chilling silence.

According to Australia’s Fairfax media, the Australian embassies involved are in Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing and Dili in East Timor; and high commissions in Kuala Lumpur and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Based on the Der Spiegel document and an interview with an anonymous former intelligence officer, the Fairfax the Fairfax report claimed that those embassies are being used to intercept phone calls and Internet data across Asia.

Malaysia does not, cannot and will not accept such unethical and despicable practices and concerned Malaysians must protest the existence of wiretapping facilities or any other surveillance practices which is a serious breach of security, violation of diplomatic norms and ethics and against friendly bilateral relations.

The governments concerned owe it to Malaysians to give a public statement that explains, admits or denies the following:

1. Is it true that the surveillance equipment is concealed, including antennas that are “sometimes hidden in false architectural features or roof maintenance sheds”? If so, they MUST remove all these immediately!

Rationale for this query: Des Ball, a top Australian intelligence expert, told The Associated Press he had personally seen covert antennas in five of the embassies named in the Fairfax report.

2. Is it true that from the intelligence bases, they covertly listen in on phone calls of Malaysian leaders under surveillance? If true, they have to return all recordings and justify why they committed such acts.

Rationale for this query: Reports of such surveillance have been public for decades.

3. What is the size of the spy staff in Malaysia? What is their mission?

4. Explain and justify the recording of an intercepted video conference call between Malaysia’s most senior military commanders. Return all copies of the recordings.

It is shocking that to date, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said only that the government had not broken any laws. “Every Australian governmental agency, every Australian official, at home and abroad, operates in accordance with the law,” Abbott told reporters. “And that’s the assurance that I can give people.”

Whose law?

The question is whose law? If an embassy breaches the security of the host country, is that operating lawfully? Throughout history, spying is illegal and lawbreaking behaviour.  Plain and simple.

Responses from others are equally flippant and indifferent to the fact that such practices are unethical.  Ball, a professor with the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre said, “We use embassies to pick up stuff that we can’t pick up from ground stations here in Australia - and lots of countries do that,”

Last Thursday, the opposition issued a statement urging the Malaysian government to lodge a protest with both the US and Australian embassies. Since protests are their specialities, what are they doing about this? Why do they display inertia to action when action is needed? Why are they passing the buck to the ruling government?

Many Malaysians do not realise the ramifications of the surveillance. Their preoccupation seems to be bashing BN. Time to wake up!

A former Australian intelligence officer explained that the “main focus” of surveillance at the Australian embassy in Jakarta was “political, diplomatic and economic intelligence.” He explained: “The huge growth of mobile phone networks has been a great boon and Jakarta’s political elite are a loquacious bunch.”

According to leaked NSA documents, four Australian sites contribute data to an NSA programme codenamed X-Keyscore, which separates data into streams of phone numbers; email addresses, log-ins and user activity for storage in massive data banks.

These sites are the US-Australian Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap near Alice Springs, and three ASD facilities-the Shoal Bay Receiving Station near Darwin, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station at Geraldton in Western Australia, and the naval communications station HMAS Harman outside Canberra. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/huan32 )

The Fairfax press reported that a classified briefing of Australian MPs several years ago had incorporated details of “a series of intelligence scoops that included a recording of an intercepted video conference call between Malaysia’s most senior military commanders.” (Source: http://tinyurl.com/huan33 )

‘The house with no windows’

To illustrate the magnitude of the problem:

1. 1. The Sydney Morning Herald exposed the existence of a fifth electronic surveillance facility, known locally as “the house with no windows,” on the remote Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

According to former Australian defence officers, the ASD post is “devoted to maritime and military surveillance, especially Indonesian naval, air force and military communications.” Australia’s Cocos Islands outpost, which has been earmarked as a potential base for US drones and warplanes, is adjacent to key strategic shipping lanes to South-East Asia.

2. 2. Australia also hosts vital listening posts plugged into the major undersea cables that carry the vast amounts of Internet traffic between North America and Asia.

3. 3. Kyodo News reported a month ago that the Japanese government rejected NSA requests in 2011 to establish similar cable facilities in Japan, citing “a lack of legislative authority.”

4. Australian governments, however, had no such qualms about integrating the ASD and other spy agencies into the NSA’s illegal activities.

5. 4. Despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s bland denials, Australia’s intimate involvement in the America’s spying operation in Asia will only reinforce the widespread view that Canberra operates as the flunkey of US imperialism in its predatory operations, against not only rival governments, but also the working class of Asia and the world.

6. 5.  EU diplomats recently traveled to Washington to get explanations concerning NSA spying. The US insisted all the intelligence gathered in Europe was related to warzones in the Middle East and would continue. ( Source: http://tinyurl.com/huan34)

6. 6.  In the wake of the NSA scandal, EU leaders have called for the suspension of a trade pact with the US worth billions of dollars. ( Source: http://tinyurl.com/huan34)

7. Most outrageously, intelligence officials in Washington remained unapologetic, defending the practice of finding out what foreign leaders and others were thinking as something that other countries did as well.

Malaysia must spruce up its IT security and defend itself from such enemies. It is time Malaysians realise our government meant serious business when it highlighted the possibilities of external threats months ago.

Asian nations must stand together and give US the same damning backlash that EU has dared to announce to the world.

Obama has emphasised the importance of enhancing military ties with Asian countries to balance the threat of rising China - a move known as the ‘pivot’ policy. Realistically, President Barack Obama’s no-show at two regional summits raised doubts about Washington’s commitment to the region.

Following the government shutdown in October, Obama skipped the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bali and the Association of South-East Asian October Nations summit in Brunei.

The time has come for the US president and Australian PM to explain to Malaysia and other affected nations the nature, magnitude and rationale of the spy games that they are playing in our country.

Certainly, we have home ground advantage. Play by our rules or leave.

The ball is in your court now, Mr President and Mr Abbot of Australia.

HUAN CHENG GUAN is president of the Sensible & Ethical Malaysian United Team (SEMUT Malaysia).