APSNet 22 October 2009
- Faulkner orders review into Collins class submarine fleet
- [Afghanistan] Troops out in five years, says defence chief
- Republic of Indonesia unwilling to be transit point for asylum seekers
- Second United Indonesia cabinet announced
- Karzai accepts run-off election
- Gates slams door on push for Futenma renegotiation
1. Faulkner orders review into Collins class submarine fleet, Patrick Walters, Australian, 2009-10-21
Defence Minister John Faulkner has ordered a review into the operational availability of the RAN’s Collins class submarines, conceding that technical issues affecting their performance are a major concern for the government. Senator Faulkner told a parliamentary committee hearing earlier today that he had directed the Defence Materiel Organisation to review all aspects of the availability of the Collins class for sea duties.
2. Troops out in five years, says defence chief, John Kerin, AFR*, 2009-10-22
Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston has predicted the bulk of coalition forces could be out of Afghanistan by 2014 provided the Obama administration backs a US military chief’s recommendations for extra troops to support a successful counter-insurgency strategy. The comment came as Defence Minister John Faulkner confirmed he would travel to Slovakia for a vital North Atlantic Treaty Organization conference on Afghanistan to appeal for another nation to replace the Dutch in their supporting role for Australian forces in the strife torn Oruzgan province.
* Subscription required.
- Rudd grilled on timing of Afghanistan troop pullout, Samantha Maiden, Australian, 2009-10-21
3. Republic of Indonesia unwilling to be transit point for asylum seekers, Antara News, 2009-10-21
Indonesia does not want to be a transit point for illegal immigrants seeking asylum in other countries, a foreign ministry official, Handri Hadi, said here on Wednesday. He said there would soon be a conclusion of the case of 255 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka now being held in the country. “We have coordinated with the chief of the Banten naval base and immigration authorities to handle the case of the Sri Lankans,” he said after a meeting at the local immigration office. Handri did disclose the results of the meeting but said hopefully a conclusion could be made soon to settle the case. “What is clear is we do not want to be a transit point,” he said.
- The smuggler’s trail, David O’Shea, Dateline, 2009-05-10
- Jakarta wants travel warning eased, Daniel Flitton, Age, 2009-10-22
- Jakarta not seeking funds exchange: DFAT, Sandra O’Malley, Age, 2009-10-22
- Address by Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor at the Australian Financial Review Defence Conference, Australian Customs Service, 2009-09-23 [PDF, 66 Kb]
- Australian Border Protection Command
- Sri Lanka: government breaks promises that displaced can go home, Human Rights Watch, 2009-10-19
4. Second United Indonesia cabinet announced, Tempointeractive, 2009-10-22
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono annouced 34 members of his 2nd United Indonesia Cabinet on Wednesday night which includes 14 new names. Five ministers remained in their posts and five others were shifted from their previous post to the new one. Two other non ministerial post was also announced, but position of Governor of Bank Indonesia remained empty. Yudhoyono did not announce any names to hold the post of Attorney General and the Commander of the Armed Forces.
- No major surprises in new Indonesian cabinet, Febriamy Hutapea and April Aswadi, Jakarta Globe, 2009-10-22
5. Karzai accepts run-off election, Anne Davies, SMH, 2009-10-21
Afghanistan will hold a second round run-off of its presidential election on November 7, the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, announced last night, Sydney time. The White House had called on Mr Karzai to accept a run-off election after the commission investigating the August 20 poll found almost a third of his votes to be fraudulent. Announcing the run-off at a news conference, Mr Karzai said he accepted the electoral commission’s findings.
- UN will do utmost to ensure credible Afghan presidential run-off – Ban, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 2009-10-20
- Western export of the ballot box elixir is pure hubris, Simon Jenkins, Guardian, 2009-10-20
6. Gates slams door on push for Futenma renegotiation, Uchida Akira, Asahi, 2009-10-21
Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged early implementation of an agreement to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in talks Tuesday with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada. The Hatoyama administration has been considering moving the Futenma base out of Okinawa entirely. While Okada acknowledged the existence of the agreement, he explained the political situation in Okinawa in which candidates who were not active supporters of the agreement were elected in all of the prefecture’s four Lower House districts in the August 30 election.
- Tide turning over Okinawa bases, Harry Fawcett, Aljazeera, 2009-10-22
Nautilus Institute and affiliated information services
- Australian region (APSNet – this newsletter): Free subscription.
- Northeast Asia (NAPSNet): Free subscription.
- Climate change adaptation (AdaptNet): Free subscription.
For further information, please contact the APSNet editor, Arabella Imhoff.
Subscribe
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit:
https://nautilus.org/mailman/listinfo/apsnet
—
Richard Tanter,
Project Co-ordinator