Exclusive: President of south-east Asian nation says Australia used cover of ‘supposedly altruistic foreign aid program’ to spy on behalf of oil companies
, a partner in the Indo-Pacific, at a time when Australia is actively attempting to counteract Chinese government influence in the region.
The fledgling and impoverished ally was hoping access to the Timor Sea reserves would lay the foundations for its development. Ramos-Horta said running an intelligence operation in such circumstances differed significantly from spying on a hostile state. “One thing is to spy, engage in bugging and other activities when facing unfriendly, hostile and sworn enemy powers like North Korea,” Ramos-Horta said. “Another is when the government of a supposedly benevolent, free and open society like Australia, engages in espionage activities on behalf of oil companies and using the cover of Australia’s supposedly altruistic foreign aid program.
The case against Collaery – charged with unlawfully disclosing protected information about the operation – continues to be a running sore in the relationship with Timor-Leste.
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