JAKARTA — Indonesia called back its envoy to Australia for consultations yesterday after media reported that Australia’s spy agencies had tried to tap mobile phones of top officials, calling the eavesdropping an “unfriendly” act that would damage ties.

“We are calling our ambassador back from Canberra immediately for a consultation,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters. “I cannot say for how long, but I told him not to carry only cabin baggage.”

The Guardian newspaper and Australian Broadcasting Corp cited a secret document from 2009 leaked by United States National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials, including Vice-President Boediono, were targeted for electronic surveillance by Australia’s Defence Signals Directorate (DSD).

“It violates every single decent and legal instrument I can think of on a national level in both countries and on an international level. This is nothing less than an unfriendly act and it has a serious impact on bilateral relations,” Mr Natalegawa said.

He said Indonesia would review its cooperation on the exchange of information with Australia. “This may entail the principle of reciprocity. So, for instance, it implies there should be corresponding numbers of officials at the embassies here and in Australia who deal with intelligence. This does not mean we are expelling anyone. I’m not privy to the exact numbers right now but we will try to have corresponding number of officials.”

“Australia has systematically, one by one, violated the principles of democracy and privacy ... We’ve heard some clarification from Australia but we’re not satisfied with their dismissive answers, as if it is a matter of course in diplomatic relations to spy on other countries,” Mr Natalegawa added.

The leaked material is a slide presentation, marked top secret, dealing with the interception of mobile phones as 3G technology was introduced in Asia. It includes a slide titled “Indonesian President Voice Intercept”, dated August 2009, and another slide titled “IA Leadership Targets + Handsets”, listing the President and the First Lady as having Nokia E90-1s, Mr Boediono as owning a BlackBerry Bold 9000, as well as the type and make of the mobile phones held by the other targets.

Another slide shows how the DSD had attempted to listen in on a call from an unknown Thailand number to Mr Yudhoyono.

Also named as targets are Mr Dino Patti Djalal, the President’s foreign affairs spokesman then, who is now seeking the candidacy in next year’s presidential election for the President’s embattled Democratic Party, and Mr Hatta Rajasa, now Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and possible presidential candidate for the National Mandate Party. Mr Hatta was Minister for Transport then.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was not in government in 2009, yesterday declined to comment on the reports in Parliament. “All governments gather information, and all governments know that every other government gathers information. The Australian government uses all the resources at its disposal — including information — to help our friends and our allies, not to harm them,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Indonesian government called in the Australian Ambassador for an explanation following reports that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta was a hub for Washington’s secret electronic data collection programme.

A document from Snowden published last month by German magazine Der Spiegel describes a signals intelligence programme called “Stateroom”, in which US, British, Australian and Canadian embassies house surveillance equipment to collect electronic communications. Those countries, along with New Zealand, have an intelligence-sharing agreement known as “Five Eyes”.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta was listed as one of the embassies involved in a report from Australia’s Fairfax Media, along with Australian embassies in Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing and Dili in East Timor; and High Commissions in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

With the latest allegation, Mr Yudhoyono now joins his German, Brazilian and Mexican counterparts as leaders who have been monitored by a member of “Five Eyes”. Germany, Brazil and Mexico have all protested to the US over the infringement of privacy by a country they regarded as friendly. AGENCIES