India is “ascertaining facts” revealed by a British newspaper, based on leaks by former US intelligence agent Edward Snowden, that American intelligence services were snooping on the Indian embassy in Washington and 37 other missions.
The Guardian on Sunday reported it had accessed documents from 2010 leaked by Snowden, which lists 38 embassies and missions on which the US services employed “extraordinary range of spying methods”. The report listed the Indian embassy along with other friendly missions like European Union, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey.
Official sources told Express they were trying to ascertain the facts of this particular incident. They pointed out that diplomats are already sensitised and aware they could be under surveillance of foreign agencies. Consequently, they take the requisite precautionary measures to avoid such unwanted scrutiny.
Speaking to reporters in Brunei, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said if there were concerns, it would be conveyed suitably. “These are things on security areas. All kinds of things happen all the time. If there is a concern, we will convey the concern,” he said on Monday. He is in Brunei to attend meetings related to the ASEAN summit.
The Guardian report said the spying methods included “bugs in electronic communications gear, tapping of cables and collection of transmissions with specialised antennae”.