KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2: Malaysia summoned the heads of the US and Australian missions in protest against spying allegations, its foreign minister said on Saturday, as a row over a vast US-led surveillance network deepened in Asia.

China and Indonesia have already demanded explanations from Australia over reports that Canberra’s missions were being used to monitor phone calls and collect data as part of US surveillance.

The dispute erupted in the region following a report in the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’, which included a top-secret map leaked by former US National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden that showed 90 US surveillance facilities at diplomatic missions worldwide — including in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Widespread reports of US National Security Agency spying based on disclosures by Mr Snowden, including that the agency was monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, have already sparked a major trans-Atlantic rift.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said his country on Friday summoned the US and Australian mission heads to “hand over a protest note in response to the alleged spying activities carried out by the two embassies in Kuala Lumpur”.

The US was represented by its deputy mission chief Lee McClenny, as the ambassador was out of town, the minister said in a statement, without giving details of what transpired.

Mr Anifah on Friday also met his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Perth, expressing “deep concern of such reports (of alleged spying activities) which have caused considerable anger amongst the Malaysian public”.

“He further stated that such activities are not done amongst close friends as it could severely damage existing relations,” the statement said, adding both ministers would work together “to manage the situation and to avoid it from affecting the close bilateral relations”.—AFP