Australia, US spied on Indonesia during UN talks: report

Australia and the United States mounted a joint surveillance operation on Indonesia during 2007 UN climate talks in Bali, a report said yesterday in revelations likely to exacerbate strained ties with Jakarta.

The Australian edition of The Guardian cited a document from US whistle-blower Edward Snowden showing Australian spy agency the Defence Signals Directorate worked alongside America's National Security Agency to collect the phone numbers of Indonesian security officials.

Australia's relationship with its close Asian neighbour is already under pressure after reports last week that Canberra's overseas diplomatic posts were involved in a vast US-led surveillance network.

Missions in Indonesia, as well as embassies or consulates in China, were reportedly used to monitor phone calls and collect data, sparking demands for an explanation from Jakarta and Beijing.

The Guardian said the 2007 operation at the United Nations climate change conference was not particularly successful, with the only tangible outcome being the mobile phone number of Bali's chief of police.

"The goal of the development effort was to gain a solid understanding of the network structure should collection be required in the event of an emergency," according to an account of the mission included in a 2008 weekly report from the NSA base at Pine Gap in Australia, one of the agency's biggest overseas bases.