Australian ambassador summoned by Indonesia over embassy spy claims Australian ambassador Greg Moriarty emerges from the Indonesian foreign ministry on Friday. Photo: Michael Bachelard Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said that reports the Australian embassy was used to spy on Indonesia were "not cricket," after Australia's ambassador to Indonesia was summonsed by the Indonesian foreign affairs department. Addressing reporters from Perth on Friday, Dr Natalegawa said that the Indonesian government was seeking an explanation to revelations this week in Fairfax Media of widespread spying in Indonesia from the Australian embassy building in Jakarta. The operation was so secret, sources said, that some employees of the embassy were unaware of it. Advertisement "If Australia was itself subject to such an activity, would you consider it as being a friendly act or not?" he said. I'm not sure what's the right term in Australian terminology. I guess it's not cricket. Dr Natalegawa acknowledged that some countries had "certain capacities" to gather information. That's one thing but, whether you would want to put that into effect and therefore potentially damaging the kind of trust and confidence that have been nurtured and developed over many decades and years is something that we may want to ponder. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Dr Natalegawa had raised his concerns with her in Perth and that she took them seriously. "It's long-standing practice for Australian governments not to comment on intelligence matters and I will be adopting that long-standing practice," she said on Friday. Australian ambassador Greg Moriarty spent less than 20 minutes in a meeting with the secretary-general of Indonesia's foreign affairs department after being called in to explain revelations of spying from his embassy. Mr Moriarty arrived looking grim shortly before 9am local time and brushed past the press pack, saying, "I'm here to talk to the foreign ministry not to the media." About 20 minutes later he emerged, stopping briefly to say, in English then in Indonesian: "I just had a meeting with the secretary-general. From my perspective it was a good meeting and now I have to go and report to my government. The summons came as a result of revelations in Fairfax Media of widespread spying in Indonesia from the Australian embassy building in Jakarta. Calling in an ambassador is a strong diplomatic step, and the revelations and swift response threaten to increase tensions in the relationship between the two countries at a time when Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seeking hose down ill-feeling in Indonesia from his electioneering over asylum seekers. The foreign ministry had earlier issued a "strong demand" that Mr Moriarty immediately explain the news. "The actions that were carried out, as they were reported, absolutely do not reflect the spirit of friendship that has been well maintained between neighbouring and friendly countries, and are a serious breach of security that is unacceptable to the Indonesian government," the Indonesian statement said. A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry said after the meeting that Mr Moriarty had been called in to "seek clarification and to convey the message as in the press release." The response came after the Indonesian president's senior foreign affairs adviser also protested strongly, saying the use of an embassy for such purposes was "unacceptable," a "serious security breach," and carried the potential to "damage trust and confidence." Adviser Teuku Faizasyah said that, "illegal ways of collecting information, including through intercepting phone conversations, is against the very principle of good bilateral relations." If news that Australia conducts clandestine surveillance activities through its embassy in Jakarta is true, such activities are highly unacceptable. It is a serious security breach and is inconsistent with diplomatic norms and ethics ... Spying on friends is unacceptable. Mutual trust is the very foundation of any good bilateral relations.