Australia–East Timor spying scandal
2004 bugging of East Timor PM's office / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Australia–East Timor spying scandal began in 2004 when the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) clandestinely planted covert listening devices in a room adjacent to the East Timor (Timor-Leste) Prime Minister's Office at Dili, to obtain information in order to ensure Australia held the upper hand in negotiations with East Timor over the rich oil and gas fields in the Timor Gap.[1] Even though the East Timor government was unaware of the espionage operation undertaken by Australia, negotiations were hostile. The first Prime Minister of East Timor, Mari Alkatiri, bluntly accused the Howard government of plundering the oil and gas in the Timor Sea, stating:
"Timor-Leste loses $1 million a day due to Australia's unlawful exploitation of resources in the disputed area. Timor-Leste cannot be deprived of its rights or territory because of a crime."[2]
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer responded:
"I think they've made a very big mistake thinking that the best way to handle this negotiation is trying to shame Australia, is mounting abuse on our country...accusing us of being bullying and rich and so on, when you consider all we've done for East Timor."[2]
"Witness K", a former senior ASIS intelligence officer who led the bugging operation, confidentially noted in 2012 the Australian Government had accessed top-secret high-level discussions in Dili and exploited this during negotiations of the Timor Sea Treaty.[3] The treaty was superseded by the signing of the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) which restricted further sea claims by East Timor until 2057.[4] Lead negotiator for East Timor, Peter Galbraith, laid out the motives behind the espionage by ASIS:
"What would be the most valuable thing for Australia to learn is what our bottom line is, what we were prepared to settle for. There's another thing that gives you an advantage, you know what the instructions the prime minister has given to the lead negotiator. And finally, if you're able to eavesdrop you'll know about the divisions within the East Timor delegation and there certainly were divisions, different advice being given, so you might be able to lean on one way or another in the course of the negotiations."[2]
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão found out about the bugging, and in December 2012 told Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard that he knew of the operation and wanted the treaty invalidated as a breach of "good faith" had occurred during the treaty negotiations. Gillard did not agree to invalidate the treaty. The first public allegation about espionage in East Timor in 2004 appeared in 2013 in an official government press release and subsequent interviews by Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. A number of subsequent media reports detailed the alleged espionage.[2]
When the espionage became known, East Timor rejected the Timor Sea treaty, and referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Timor's lawyers, including Bernard Collaery, intended to call Witness K as a confidential witness in an "in camera" hearing in March 2014. However, in December 2013 the homes and office of both Witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery were raided and searched by ASIO and Australian Federal Police, and many legal documents were confiscated. East Timor immediately sought an order from the ICJ for the sealing and return of the documents.[2]
In March 2014, the ICJ ordered Australia to stop spying on East Timor.[5] The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague considered claims by East Timor over the territory until early 2017, when East Timor dropped the ICJ case against Australia after the Australian Government agreed to renegotiate.[6] In 2018, the parties signed a new agreement which gave 80% of the profits to East Timor and 20% to Australia.
The identity of Witness K has been kept secret under the provisions of the Intelligence Services Act and any person in breach of this could face prosecution.[7]
In June 2018 the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions filed criminal charges against Witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery under the National Security Information (NSI) Act which was introduced in 2004 to deal with classified and sensitive material in court cases.[8][9][10] In June 2022, Witness K, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to a three-month suspended term of imprisonment and a 12-month good behaviour order.[11] Pre-trial proceedings continued until July 2022, when Collaery's prosecution was discontinued by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.[12]
On 9 February 2022 ABC reports that documents filed in court claims that Australia may have been monitoring the phone calls of political leaders in East Timor since 2000.[13]