(1 Nov 2013) Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta on Friday, following media reports that American and Australian embassies were being used as hubs for Washington's secret electronic data collection programme.
Greg Moriarty arrived for a meeting as China and Southeast Asian governments demanded an explanation from America and its allies.
The reports come amid an international outcry over allegations the US has spied on the telephone communications of as many as 35 foreign leaders.
A document from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, published this week by German magazine Der Spiegel, 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."
Australia's Fairfax media reported Thursday that 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.
The Fairfax report, based on the Der Spiegel document and an interview with an anonymous former intelligence officer, said those embassies are being used to intercept phone calls and internet data across Asia.
In a statement, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said his government "cannot accept and strongly protests the news of the existence of wiretapping facilities at the US Embassy in Jakarta."
"It should be emphasised that if confirmed, such action is not only a breach of security, but also a serious breach of diplomatic norms and ethics, and certainly not in tune with the spirit of friendly relations between nations," he said.
As he left the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta, Moriarty told reporters that his meeting with the secretary-general was "good" and that he was going to report directly to his government.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said only that the government had not broken any laws.

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