China spies target Australia PM, Rio Tinto: report

CANBERRA, April 3 (Reuters) - Chinese spies have directly targeted Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, attempting to hack into his phone and computer on a visit to China, and prompting a tightening of security, a newspaper report said on Friday. The Australian said China had directly targeted Rudd during his visit last August, with he and his staff under constant cyber attack from authorities trying to access communications gear, adding to growing suspicion in Canberra about Chinese investment. Officials at the Chinese embassy in Canberra could not be immediately reached for comment, with phone calls unanswered. The daily, citing unnamed intelligence sources, said the blatant nature of Beijing's electronic espionage had alarmed the centre-left government and led to a tightening of communications security for senior government figures travelling to China. Rudd, speaking in London after the G20 meeting of leading economies, said had not been advised of a specific attack, but the government was wary of cyber-espionage. "The (December) national security statement clearly identified the threat of cyber attacks," Rudd told Australian reporters in London. A defence planning paper due out later this month is expected to deal with cyber-espionage. Anti-Chinese sentiment has been rising in Australia with opposition lawmakers accusing Mandarin-speaking Rudd of being a "roving ambassador" for China. [ID:nSYD420894] China's ambassador to Australia on Thursday defended Chinese investment in local resource firms as Canberra considers whether to approve a $19.5 billion tie-up between state-owned metals firm Chinalco and mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX). Rio Tinto may have been the target of a Chinese cyber attack in the early stages of Chinalco's bid for the Anglo-Australian miner, the Australian said, citing senior government sources, who called the attacks "incessant and enduring".