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Modi holds talks with Putin, Xi

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Modi Putin Xi

Ufa: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, during which all bilateral issues were discussed.

Modi held talks with Putin within hours of landing in Ufa for the BRICS and SCO summits, and afterwards held an 85-minute talk with Xi.

His meeting with Xi comes over a month after the two leaders met at Xi’an in China in May.

Putin conveyed to Modi that the process of India’s accession into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has begun.

Putin, the host of the BRICS and SCO summits being held in this Russian city, told Modi: “We are beginning the process of full-fledged inclusion of India into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.”

Putin said it was “a very important event”.

Modi thanked Putin, saying: “Under your (Putin’s) leadership in BRICS, India has become a member of SCO. I am very grateful.”

India and Pakistan, both observers of the China-led bloc, are to be made permanent members of the SCO.

Modi, who arrived earlier in the day from Kazakhstan, thanked Putin for the warm welcome and also for observance of the International Day of Yoga in Russian cities on June 21.

Putin said jocularly that he has not tried to do yoga yet, though he is all for it.

With Xi, the talks also touched on the border issue and trade.

“An in-depth discussion covering all aspects of bilateral relations. 85-minute long meeting between President Xi & PM ends,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

“Our fifth meeting in a year shows the depth of the India-China relationship. PM @narendramodi tells President Xi,” according to another tweet.

“From a spring meeting in China to a summer one in Russia – for the second bilateral of @BRICS2015, PM with President Xi,” he tweeted again.

According to Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, the talks covered the border issue and the work the Special Representatives have been charged with to make “accelerated progress on the boundary question” as well as the possibility of more meeting points between their forces on the border, he told reporters after the talks.

India’s application for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group was also taken up during the talks with China as well as counter-terrorism, said Jaishanakr.

He said Modi’s talk with both leaders also dwelt on the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which India is one of the founding members and the second largest shareholder.

Jaishankar said a common theme was increasing cooperation within the SCO.

The Seventh annual BRICS Summit is set to take place July 9 in Ufa, while the SCO summit will be held on July 10.

(IANS)

Holy Cow! Chinese inspectors may allow Indian beef exports

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Photo: KOON/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo: KOON/AFP/Getty Images)

New Delhi: Beef may be having rough days under the BJP government, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China last monthmay have cleared the way for export of the holy meat to the world’s biggest market two years after an agreement was signed. Agri-products such as pomegranate, non-basmati rice and okra could also find their way to China as India steps up efforts to reduce the imbalance in bilateral trade.

Beijing will send an inspection team next month to examine meat plants in India so that the facilities can be cleared for exports. Indian bovine meat and meat products have been denied entry into China on grounds of alleged foot-and-mouth disease.”China’s quarantine inspectors are coming to inspect bovine meat facilities in July, which is two years after the memorandum of understanding was signed. We are hopeful that it will clear the way for our agri exports,” said a government official. “This will help address the issue of trade deficit to some extent, which, if not addressed, could reach unsustainable levels.”

India’s trade deficit with China widened to $48 billion in 2014-15 from $36 billion the previous year.

Taking no chances with the bilateral process, India also questioned China’s decision to continue curbs on Indian buffalo meat imports at an agriculture committee meeting of the World Trade Organization in April. China’s demand for Indian buffalo meat is estimated at about $1.5 billion a year.

India became the world’s top beef exporter last year. Bovine meat overtook basmati rice as the country’s single largest agri export item in 2014-15, posting a 10% growth to $4.79 billion.

China is among the top beef consumers and depends on imports to meet domestic demand. India has also asked China to approve the export clearance process for agri items such as pomegranate, okra, non-basmati rice and cucumber. China recently allowed Indian mangoes, basmati rice, rape seed and oil cakes.

“Chinese are mainly non-basmati rice consumers, with their annual imports ranging between $36-40 billion. So we are asking them to certify our clearance procedures for non-basmati rice. They have said that they will look into it,” said the official.

India wants China to allow 17 farm products that it has restricted citing sanitary and phyto sanitary conditions, also considered non-tariff barriers. “Since mango they have already cleared, we are pushing for pomegranate, okra, grapes and cucumbers in the next lot,” said the official.

Indian fruit and vegetables and non-basmati rice have an export potential worth $1-2 billion annually, according to estimates. India has asked China to expedite export clearance for tobacco, bitter gourd, papaya, guava, brinjal, custard apple, cabbage, capsicum and beans, among others.

India’s exports to China fell almost 20% to $12 billion in 2014-15, while imports rose to $60 billion. According to a foreign trade policy statement issued by India’s department of commerce in April, the trade deficit with China could widen to $60 billion in the next two years if the two countries don’t address market access constraints and non-tariff barriers imposed on Indian goods. India has proposed that exports from packaging units with certification from Indian quarantine authorities be recognised by the Chinese authorities.

India has been strongly pushing for elimination of non-tariff barriers by China in various sectors including agriculture, IT, pharma and auto components.

(Agencies)

Ramadan fasting ban: China Uighur Muslims forced to skip fasting during Holy Month

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Uighur

by Mugdha Variyar, IBT

China is reportedly forcing officials in the restive Xinjiang region to swear that they will not fast during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Thursday.

Xinjiang is home to Uighur Muslims, and China has cracked down on the region ever since Islamist militants carried out deadly terror attacks in the recent years.

In continuation of last year’s ‘ban’ on Ramadan fasting, state websites have been putting up notices asking officials and civil servants, and even students and teachers, to not observe Ramadan, according to Reuters.

In some particularly restive counties in Xinjiang, officials have been asked to give assurances, orally and in writing, “guaranteeing they have no faith, will not attend religious activities and will lead the way in not fasting over Ramadan”, Reuters reported citing state media.

Ramadan is the holiest month of the year for Muslims around the world, which involves fasting from dawn to dusk and offering prayers and reading the Quran over 30 days.

Apart from a ‘ban’ on fasting, China is also stoking religious sentiments by ordering halal restaurants to remain open during the day in the Jinghe county, while also ordering shops to continue selling cigarettes and alcohol.

China’s clampdown on the month of Ramadan in the restive region is being seen as a provocation for more unrest in the region.

“China is increasing its bans and monitoring as Ramadan approaches. The faith of the Uighurs has been highly politicized, and the increase in controls could cause sharp resistance,” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exiled Uighur group, the World Uyghur Congress, was quoted saying.

China already ruffled feathers by imposing a ban on burqas in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi in December last year.

Around 20 million Muslims live in China, with eight million Uighur Muslims, who speak Turkish, concentrated in the Xinjiang region in the country’s northwest.

China ship disaster death toll crosses 300

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A total of 331 people confirmed dead in ship tragedy, as more than 100 still remain unaccounted for, state media says.

Passengers' relatives have raised questions about whether the ship should have continued its cruise after the storm [Reuters]

Passengers’ relatives have raised questions about whether the ship should have continued its cruise after the storm [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

The death toll in China cruise ship disaster has risen to 331, state media has said, making it China’s deadliest boat disaster in nearly seven decades.

Disaster teams on Saturday searched the now-upright ship for more bodies as more than 100 remained unaccounted for.

Just 14 people have been confirmed alive out of the 456 – mostly tourists aged over 60 – on board when the “Eastern Star” rapidly sunk on the Yangtze river in a storm on Monday.

Authorities gave the death toll of 331 as of 08:00 am (0000 GMT) on Saturday, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Xinhua earlier gave the total of confirmed dead as 345, but then revised it down to 331. An official said on Thursday that no new survivors are expected to be found.

Authorities have attributed the overturning of the cruise boat to sudden, severe winds, but also have placed the surviving captain and his first engineer under police custody.

Passengers’ relatives have raised questions about whether the ship should have continued its cruise after the storm started in a section of Hubei province and despite a weather warning earlier in the evening.

The vessel was cited for safety infractions two years ago, according to a notice by the Nanjing Maritime Bureau, but no further details have been given about the state of the ship.

Information about the sinking and media access to the site have been tightly controlled, and any online criticism of the search operation quickly doused.

Hundreds missing in Chinese tourist ship disaster

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Only a small number of survivors pulled from water after ship with more than 450 people on board sinks on Yangtze River.

china-ship-accident

by Al Jazeera

Hundreds of people remain missing after a tourist ship carrying more than 450 people sank on the Yangtze River in central China.

Five bodies have been retrieved and at least 15 people rescued, including the captain and the ship’s chief engineer – who have both been detained – according to state media reports.

Hours after the incident, which occurred on Monday night local time, the People’s Daily reported that more passengers were still alive and inside the Eastern Star.

Images shown on state broadcaster CCTV showed rescuers lying on the upturned ship attempting to communicate with potential survivors inside.

The China Daily newspaper reported that a woman in her 60s was pulled alive out of the water at 12.56pm local time (04:56 GMT) on Tuesday following reports on CCTV that three people had been confirmed alive inside the upturned ship.

Another man was later pulled alive from the water, the newspaper reported.

The Yangtze River navigation administration said the ship capsized during a “cyclone” at Jianli in Hubei province. Chinese meteorological officials have been tasked to study the weather conditions at the time of the accident.

Seven people swam to the shore and alerted police after the shipwreck, CCTV reported.

Search and rescue operation

State media also reported that more than 2,100 soldiers and policemen were taking part in search and rescue operations, which were complicated by strong winds and heavy rain. More than 150 ships were also involved.

Most of the passengers were said to be tourists aged between 50 and 80 years old, who were about to go to sleep as the vessel sank.

Xinhua said there were 405 Chinese passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members on board the ship that was en route from Nanjing to Chongqing.

President Xi Jinping asked that no efforts be spared in search and rescue operations, and Premier Li Keqiang travelled to the area.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Hong Kong, said the accident comes as more and more Chinese people are travelling within their own country.

“People take vacations more and trips along the Yangtze River are one of the more popular trips that people make,” our correspondent said.

#ModiInsultsIndia trends on Twitter: Here's why

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Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic efforts with China turned sour on Tuesday with a leading Chinese government mouthpiece saying that not many foreign direct investments are coming to India.

According to the mouthpiece, “”For the moment, there is little evidence of success for foreign investments from private enterprises. Economy a dilemma for globe-trotting Modi. Relentless efforts at major power diplomacy. In the end, if any country tries to encourage investments to India, most of the programmes will be led by the government itself, with most of the private business sector skeptical about the whole idea.”

The Chinese media also pointed out that the daily hard-nosed assessment of the country stops investors from doing promising business in India.
The article also targeted disappointing power failures, lack of decent roads and ports for transportation.

“Labour unrest occurs from time to time. Attracting investments against such backdrop will prove to be a major problem,” it added.

The mouthpiece barely two days after Modi’s visit to the ‘Dragon Kingdom’ comes as a jolt to those Indians who are expecting much out of the foreign tour.

Meanwhile, it gives another issue to the opposition who has time and again targeted PM for spending much on his foreign tours.
The shaming act by Chinese act also led to a trend on Twitter with people adding remarks using hashtag #ModiInsultsIndia.

China orders Muslim shopkeepers to sell alcohol, cigarettes, to ‘weaken’ Islam

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This photo taken on April 16, 2015 shows Uighur men praying in a mosque in Hotan, in China's western Xinjiang region. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

This photo taken on April 16, 2015 shows Uighur men praying in a mosque in Hotan, in China’s western Xinjiang region. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

by Simon Denyer, The Washington Post

Chinese authorities have ordered Muslim shopkeepers and restaurant owners in a village in its troubled Xinjiang region to sell alcohol and cigarettes, and promote them in “eye-catching displays,” in an attempt to undermine Islam’s hold on local residents, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported. Establishments that failed to comply were threatened with closure and their owners with prosecution.

Facing widespread discontent over its repressive rule in the mainly Muslim province of Xinjiang, and mounting violence in the past two years, China has launched a series of “strike hard” campaigns to weaken the hold of Islam in the western region. Government employees and children have been barred from attending mosques or observing the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In many places, women have been barred from wearing face-covering veils, and men discouraged from growing long beards.

In the village of Aktash in southern Xinjiang, Communist Party official Adil Sulayman, told RFA that many local shopkeepers had stopped selling alcohol and cigarettes from 2012 “because they fear public scorn,” while many locals had decided to abstain from drinking and smoking.

The Koran calls the use of “intoxicants” sinful, while some Muslim religious leaders have also forbidden smoking.

Sulayman said authorities in Xinjiang viewed ethnic Uighurs who did not smoke as adhering to “a form of religious extremism.” They issued the order to counter growing religious sentiment that was “affecting stability,” he said.

“We have a campaign to weaken religion here, and this is part of that campaign,” he told the Washington-based news service.

The notice, obtained by RFA and posted on Twitter, ordered all restaurants and supermarkets in Aktash to sell five different brands of alcohol and cigarettes and display them prominently. “Anybody who neglects this notice and fails to act will see their shops sealed off, their businesses suspended, and legal action pursued against them,” the notice said.

Radio Free Asia, which provides some of the only coverage of events in Xinjiang to escape strict Chinese government controls, said Hotan prefecture, where Aktash is located, had become “a hotbed of violent stabbing and shooting incidents between ethnic Uighurs and Chinese security forces.”

China says Uighur militant groups based abroad are using the Internet to inspire local Muslims to take up violent jihad against the state. Critics say China’s long repression of Uighur rights and nationalist sentiment has pushed people toward Islam as the only permitted assertion of their community’s identity, and pushed a minority toward a violent form of Islam. Clumsy attempts to promote alcohol or forbid beards and veils may prove counterproductive, they warn.

James Leibold, an expert on China’s ethnic policies at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, said Chinese officials were “often flailing around in the dark” when tackling extremism. An acute lack of understanding leads them to focus on visible, but imprecise, perceptions of radicalism such as long beards, veils and sobriety, he said.

The result is often “crude forms of ethno-cultural profiling,” Leibold said.

“These sorts of mechanistic and reactive policies only serve to inflame ethno-national tension without addressing the root causes of religious extremism, while further alienating the mainstream Uighur community, making them feel increasingly unwelcome within a hostile, Han-dominated society,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Sulayman said around 60 shops and restaurants in the area had complied with the government order, and there were no reports of protests. But in an unrelated incident in neighboring Qinghai province on Friday, an angry crowd of Muslims smashed windows of a supposedly halal store in Xining city, after pork sausages and ham were found in a delivery van, according to the local government and photographs on social media

Agreements worth $22bn inked in India-China business forum

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Modi_china_CEO

Shanghai: As many as 26 business agreements worth over USD 22 billion were signed today between Indian firms — including Adani group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun — and thier Chinese counterparts on the last day of Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to China.

These MoU and agreements span a wide range of industries, including renewable, energy, power infrastructure, steel and small & medium industries.

Among major agreements is Bharti Airtel’s tie-up for credit facility of USD 2.5 billion with China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The Adani Group also inked an agreement with Golden Concord Holdings to establish an integrated photovoltaic industrial park in Mundra SEZ and to explore investments in gas power generation and natural gas sector.

In another pact, Adani Ports & SEZ and Guangzhou Port Authority agreed to establish “sister port relationship” between Mundra Port and Guangzhou Port.
Welspun Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding with Trina Solar of China to jointly set up a PV industry park for production of 500 MW of Photovoltaic (PV) cell and 500 MW of PV solar module in India.

“(These) are a reflection of the strong interest of Chinese companies to invest in India and contribute towards ‘Make in India’ initiative,” an official statement said.
It further said the agreements would also facilitate cooperation between Indian and Chinese companies in the film and entertainment industry and “will help in making more Chinese friends/audiences aware of India’s strength in this area.”

The other significant MoUs include, IL&FS and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); IL&FS Energy Development Co and China Huaneng Group for 4,000 MW Nana Layja Thermal Power (Coal) project; and Jindal Steel and Power and ICBC on development of potential projects.

Technology major Infosys also entered into an MoU with People’s Government of Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture to jointly build ‘China India Information Service Industry Corridor’ in Qinnan.

Bhushan Power and Steel too signed a pact with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation for an integrated steel project in Gujarat.

Speaking at the India China Business Forum, Modi had reached out to Chinese investors asking them to take advantage of the “winds of change” in India with a much more transparent, responsive and stable regulatory regime.

(PTI)

Modi tells China to 'reconsider' its approach on some issues; signs 24 agreements

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Narendra Modi

Beijing: After voicing concern over China’s investments in PoK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked it to “reconsider” its approach on some of the issues and take a strategic and long term view to push the relationship which has been “complex” in recent decades.

Modi, who held wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Li Keqiang, sought tangible progress on issues relating to visa, an apparent reference to stapled visas issued by China to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, as he underlined that the two countries need to be “sensitive to each other’s interests”.

He stressed the need for strengthening mutual trust and confidence while seeking solutions to outstanding issues.

The two sides signed a record 24 agreements covering railways, mining, outer space, earthquake science and engineering, tourism, sister-cities and establishment of consulates in Chengdu and Chennai. “Our conversations were candid, constructive and friendly. We covered all issues, including those that trouble smooth development of our relations,” Modi said at a joint press interaction here along with Li after the talks held at the Great Hall of People.

“I stressed the need for China to reconsider its approach on some of the issues that hold us back from realising full potential of our partnership. I suggested that China should take a strategic and long term view of our relations,” Modi said.

The statement comes a day after Modi raised concern with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their talks in Xi’an over China’s USD 46 billion proposed investment in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “I found the Chinese leadership responsive,” he said, adding that the re-emergence of India and China and their relationship will have a profound impact on the two countries and the course of this century.

Noting that India-China relationship has been “complex in recent decades”, Modi said the two countries have a “historic responsibility to turn this relationship into a source of strength for each other and a force of good for the world.”

On the boundary question, Modi said the two sides agreed to continue to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution. “We both reiterated our strong commitment to make all efforts to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border region,” he said.

India, China sign 24 key agreements

India and China today signed a record 24 agreements in key sectors, including in railways and education, on day two of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to the communist neighbour.

Protocol for setting up Consulates-General at Chengdu and Chennai besides an MoU on consultative mechanism for cooperation in trade negotiations were among the 24 agreements signed in the presence of Modi and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang here.

An action plan between the Indian Railways and China National Railways on enhancing cooperation in the railway sector was also signed.

“Today, we have signed over 20 agreements, covering diverse areas of cooperation. This shows the depth and maturity of our relationship and the positive direction of our partnership,” Modi said in his address.

“Our decision to open consulates in Chengdu and Chennai reflects growing mutual confidence and shared commitment to expand relations,” he added.An MoU on education exchange programme and ‘Space Cooperation Outline’ were also signed.

Other key agreements are on developing China India think tanks, maritime cooperation and ocean sciences. Four agreements were signed on sister-state and sister city relations between Karnataka and Sichuan province; Chennai and Chongqing; Hyderabad and Qingdao; and Aurangabad and Dunhuang. An agreement on setting up a Mahatma Gandhi skill centre in Ahmedabad was also signed besides a broadcast tie-up for Doordarshan and China’s state-run CCTV.

Agreements on education exchange programme, on mining and minerals, skill development, tourism and vocational education also figured on the list. Two MoUs between Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Yunnan Minzu University and another with Fudan University were signed on the establishment of a Yoga college and centre for Gandhian and Indian studies, respectively.

(PTI)

New Zealand Plotted Hack on China With US's NSA

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Photo of New Zealand prime minister John Key, left, and Chinese premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, March 2014. (Feng Li/AP)

Photo of New Zealand prime minister John Key, left, and Chinese premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, March 2014. (Feng Li/AP)

by Ryan Gallagher and Nicky Hager

New Zealand spies teamed with National Security Agency hackers to break into a data link in the country’s largest city, Auckland, as part of a secret plan to eavesdrop on Chinese diplomats, documents reveal.

The covert operation, reported Saturday by New Zealand’s Herald on Sunday in collaboration with The Intercept, highlights the contrast between New Zealand’s public and secret approaches to its relationship with China, its largest and most important trading partner.

The hacking project suggests that New Zealand’s electronic surveillance agency, Government Communications Security Bureau, or GCSB, may have violated international treaties that prohibit the interception of diplomatic communications.

New Zealand has signed both the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, international treaties that protect the “inviolability” of diplomatic correspondance. The country’s prime minister, John Key, said in a recent speech on security that New Zealand had an obligation to support the rule of law internationally, and was “known for its integrity, reliability and independence.”

Last year, Key said that New Zealand’s relationship with China, worth an estimated $15 billion in annual two-way trade, had “never been stronger.” The relationship was not just about “purely trading,” he said, “it is so much broader and much deeper than that.”

In 2013, Key described a meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing as “extremely warm” and told of how he was viewed as a “real friend” by the country’s premier, Li Keqiang.

At the same time, as minister in charge of the GCSB, Key was overseeing spying against China – which included the top-secret planned operation in Auckland, aimed at the Chinese consulate.

The hacking project is outlined in documents obtained by The Interceptfrom NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

A secret report called “NSA activities in progress 2013,” includes an itemtitled “New Zealand: Joint effort to exploit Chinese MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] link.” The operation, according to another NSA document, had “identified an MFA data link between the Chinese consulate and Chinese Visa Office in Auckland,” two buildings about a five-minute walk apart on the city’s busy Great South Road.

The document added that the New Zealand agency was “providing additional technical data” on the data link to the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations, a powerful unit that hacks into computer systems and networks to intercept communications. The agencies had “verbally agreed to move forward with a cooperative passive and active effort against this link,” it said.

Passive surveillance refers to a method of eavesdropping on communications that intercepts them as they are flowing over Internet cables, between satellites, or across phone networks. Active surveillance is a more aggressive tactic that involves hacking into computers; in the case of the Auckland operation, active surveillance could have involved planting spyware in the Chinese government computers or routers connected via the consulate data link.

The documents do not reveal whether the operation was successfully completed, due to the timeframe that the records cover. In May 2013, Snowden left his Hawaii-based intelligence job and flew to Hong Kong carrying the cache of secret files. In April 2013, shortly before Snowden’s departure, “formal coordination” on the hacking plan had begun between the NSA and its New Zealand counterpart, according to the documents.

More New Zealand operations targeting China appear to have been ongoing at that time. In another April 2013 NSA document describing the agency’s relationship with New Zealand spies, under the heading “What partner provides to NSA,” the first item on the list is “collection on China.” New Zealand’s GCSB surveillance agency “continues to be especially helpful in its ability to provide NSA ready access to areas and countries that are difficult for the United States to access,” the report said.

China intelligence is handled inside the New Zealand agency by a special section that focuses on economic analysis. According to sources with knowledge of the agency’s operations, its economic section, known as the “IBE,” specialised in Japanese diplomatic communications from 1981 until the late 2000s. In recent years its focus has shifted to intercepted Chinese communications, the sources say.

In response to the revelations, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand told the Herald on Sunday that the country was “concerned” about the spying. “We attach great importance to the cyber security issue,” the spokesman said, adding that “China proposes to settle disputes through dialogue and formulate codes to regulate cyber space behaviors that are acceptable to all sides.”

China itself is known to be a major perpetrator of espionage on the global stage, and it has been repeatedly accused by the U.S. government of hacking into American computer networks. Last year, China was linked to an apparent intelligence-gathering hack on a powerful New Zealand supercomputer used to conduct weather and climate research.

But the Snowden documents have shown that countries in the so-called “Five Eyes” surveillance alliance – which includes New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia – are also heavily involved in conducting aggressive spying and hacking operations across the world.

Previous revelations have detailed how agencies in the alliance have hackedlaw–abiding companies, foreign government computers, and designed technology to attack and destroy infrastructure using cyberwar techniques. Last year, The Intercept revealed how the NSA had developed the capability to deploy millions of malware “implants” to infect computers and steal data on a large scale.

The NSA, the GCSB and the New Zealand prime minister’s office each declined to answer questions about this story.

GCSB’s acting director, Una Jagose, said in an emailed statement that the agency “exists to protect New Zealand and New Zealanders.” She added: “We have a foreign intelligence mandate. We don’t comment on speculation about matters that may or may not be operational. Everything we do is explicitly authorised and subject to independent oversight.”

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