ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION).
STORY: China on Thursday (October 31) demanded an explanation from the United States after a report in an Australian newspaper said Australian embassies, including the one in Beijing, were being used as part of a U.S.-led spying operation.
The Sydney Morning Herald said on Thursday that the intelligence collection takes place in Australian embassies across Asia, as well as other diplomatic missions, without most Australian diplomats knowing about it.
"China is extremely concerned about this report and ask that the U.S. offer a clarification and explanation. We also ask that foreign embassies in China and their staff respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and other international treaties and should not get involved in any activities which do not accord with their status or jobs and harm China's security and interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a dai
