APSNet 01 April 2010

1. This time it’s the generators: Defence reveals latest battle with navy’s underwater lemons
2. Australia blasts China over sentence
3. Faulkner insists JSF will deliver
4. War protesters ‘switch off’ defence satellite dish
5. Afghans best producers of cannabis: UN
6. Human rights abuses contributing to increased poverty in Afghanistan – UN report
7. Our western front: Australia and the Indian Ocean

1. This time it’s the generators: Defence reveals latest battle with navy’s underwater lemons, Dan Oakes, SMH, 2010-03-31

 The Defence Department official responsible for rehabilitating the Collins class fleet, Kim Gillis, told a senate subcommittee the navy had discovered five of the six submarines were built with flawed Australian-made generators.

• Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Defence Subcommittee, Defence Subcommittee, Department of Defence Annual Report 2008-09, 2010-03-30, [PDF, 611 KB]

 2. Australia blasts China over sentence, Kirsty Needham, and John Garnaut, SMH, 2010-03-30

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has hit out at China over a 10-year jail term handed to Australian businessman Stern Hu, describing it as ”on any measure a very tough sentence” and saying it put at risk the confidence needed by the global business community to operate in China.

• China’s conduct unbecoming: Rudd, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-03-31
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3. Faulkner insists JSF will deliver, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-03-30

Defence Minister John Faulkner has insisted the troubled F-35 joint strike fighter is the right buy for Australia’s future air defence despite ongoing technical problems, with the purchase remaining well within the government’s $16 billion budget.
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4. War protesters ‘switch off’ defence satellite dish, Reid Sexton and Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-04-01

Four anti-war protesters claim they tampered with a satellite dish and power supply at a secretive Victorian military base before being detected and arrested by police.

• Bonhoeffer four charged after entering Swan Island base, Indymedia Australia, 2010-03-31
• Mystery island for our spies, Ian McPhedran and Mark Buttler, Herald Sun, 2007-04-10
• Special Operations Task Group, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute
• Australian Special Air Service Regiment, Wikipedia

5. Afghans best producers of cannabis: UN, Mark Dodd, Australian, 2010-03-31

War-battered Afghanistan, the world’s biggest producer of opium can now claim the title of world leader in hashish production as well, a key UN report has found. The Australian Federal Police has more than a dozen agents posted in Afghanistan. They are based in the capital Kabul and southern Oruzgan where their duties include gathering intelligence on the narcotics trade.

• Afghanistan cannabis survey 2009, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010-04, [PDF, 3.8MB]

6. Human rights abuses contributing to increased poverty in Afghanistan – UN report, United Nations Human Rights, Media centre, 2010-03-30

Patronage, corruption, impunity and over-emphasis on short-term security issues rather than targeted long-term development are exacerbating the already dire poverty affecting more than two-thirds of all Afghans, according to a report published by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

• Human Rights Dimension of Poverty in Afghanistan, United Nations Office of The High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010-03, [PDF, 366KB]

7. Our western front: Australia and the Indian Ocean, Sam Bateman and Anthony Bergin, ASPI, 2010-03-31

A new maritime great game is emerging in the Indian Ocean, as strategic competition between India and China becomes evident. It’s the major energy and international trade maritime highway, particularly for the booming economies of Asia. The report argues that Australia should develop a comprehensive policy approach to the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.