MANILA — Hackers claiming links with international activist group Anonymous defaced dozens of websites belonging to Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies yesterday.

A group calling itself Anonymous Indonesia posted on Twitter a list of more than 100 Australian sites it had hacked, saying the action was in response to reports of spying by Australia.

The websites, defaced with the message Stop Spying on Indonesia, are mainly owned by small Australian businesses and appeared to have been chosen randomly.

News of Australia’s role in a United States-led surveillance network could damage relations with Indonesia, Australia’s nearest Asian neighbour and an important strategic ally.

Reports that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was being used for spying prompted Indonesia to summon the Australian Ambassador on Friday.

China demanded an explanation from the US after the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported that Australian embassies across Asia were part of the US operation.

In a separate incident, a group calling itself Anonymous Philippines said on Facebook that it had defaced Philippine government sites with a message seeking support for a protest demanding the abolition of “pork-barrel funds” — money activists say is for political patronage.

“We apologise for this inconvenience, but this is the easiest way we could convey our message to you, our dear brothers and sisters who are tired of this cruelty and this false democracy, tired of this government and the politicians who only think about themselves,” said the message.

A scandal over lawmakers’ misuse of public funds has become the biggest crisis of President Benigno Aquino’s three-year rule, tainting his carefully crafted image as a corruption fighter and undermining his ability to implement economic reform.

The websites of national and local government agencies and the Philippine embassy in Seoul were among those hacked.

Last week, an Internet video by someone claiming to be part of Anonymous threatened to bring down key infrastructure in Singapore in a protest against new licensing rules imposed on websites in the country.

A blog section of The Straits Times newspaper was hacked on Friday morning and temporarily carried a statement complaining about how the paper had reported the hacking threat.

The paper has referred the matter to the police. REUTERS