Is Singapore eavesdropping on Thailand?

Thailand-Singapore relations looks set to worsen day after day. Thailand has accused Singapore of spying on private mobile phone conversations by the Thai military. Shin Corp and its mobile phone company AIS are owned by Singapore's Temasek Holdings. From Channel NewsAsia:

Sitthicahi Pookaiyaudoom, the Thai minister responsible for information and communication technology, said Thursday he was setting up an investigative committee to probe the case.

"I will today authorise the creation of a special committee chaired by the ICT ministry's permanent secretary to conduct an investigation into eavesdropping," Sitthicahi told reporters.

Sittichai said the investigation would focus not only on Temasek and Shin Corp but would look broadly at possible security lapses in Thailand's telecommunication system...

"What the Singapore government said does not affect the ICT ministry. That's for the foreign ministry to deal with, and I don't care about the comments by Singapore's government," he said.

"They say Singapore is a sovereign state. Thailand is also a sovereign state. That's not an issue."

Sittichai refused to rule out the possibility that the findings could result in the government rescinding concessions granted to Shin Corp.

"We have to carefully consider whether the terms of the concession allows state to confiscate the concession and on what ground."

The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already said that it does not route Thailand's domestic calls into Singapore, adding that it does not make business or technical sense.

Whether or not Singapore spied on Thailand, there is no doubt in my mind that the acquisition of Shin Corp by Temasek is looking more and more like a very bad investment decision.


Previously: Thailand-Singapore Relations: Singapore's elite should have stayed on the sidelines