To be frank, while I’m angry (though not surprised) at the ASIC operation because of its connotations when it comes to Australian involvement in mass surveillance, calling it corporate espionage is a bit of a stretch.
Indonesia is Australia’s nearest northern neighbour, and is the target of the majority of the country’s international espionage (and vice versa, although Indonesia also has to worry more immediately about Singapore and China). Corporate espionage is about one corporation stealing information from another for financial gain. While an American law firm was involved in this operation (and it’s pretty messed up that the NSA would let ASIC spy on Americans as a means to get to Indonesia), it’s almost certain that the point of the operation was classic political espionage: being able to listen to the phone conversations of Indonesian politicians and bureaucrats.
Our toad-headed PM isn’t exactly making any friends in Indonesia (you may remember the recent wiretapping of the Indonesian PM scandal), and this news isn’t going to make things any easier for diplomatic relations (that is if we have any diplomatic relations left).
