The situation which has been created by the US government’s spying activities “is an inevitable outcome of capitalism,” says Kim Petersen, co-editor of Dissident Voice.
Documents leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden have shown that the US has been secretly using diplomatic outposts of other ‘Five Eye’ nations across Asia for spying purposes throughout the continent.
The ‘Five Eyes’ club is an intelligence sharing alliance including the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The leaked documents, published by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, show the Australian Defense Signals Directorate helps US spying agencies intercept phone calls and collect data through a secret spying program, codenamed STATEROOM, at embassies across Asia and the Pacific without the knowledge of most Australian diplomats.
China has said it is “extremely concerned about this report” and demanded “a clarification and explanation” from Washington.
“Five nations collaborating together to spy on China sounds like a dangerous game,” said Petersen in a phone interview with Press TV on Thursday.
“The Chinese are technologically capable and they can play that game well but the situation of spying, the disregard of privacy, is an inevitable outcome of capitalism. Capitalism is a system whereby people and states are competing against each other and rules go out of the window,” he added.
Recent revelations show that the US has been eavesdropping on phone calls of at least 35 world leaders including some of its closest allies in Europe like German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has said a “top tenet” of Washington’s overseas spying operations is learning foreign leaders’ intentions.
ISH/ISH
Source: Press TV