APSNet 13 August 2009

1. Diggers shoot Afghan cops at checkpoint
2. Hebei’s stake in uranium
3. [Japan] DPJ vows civilian Afghanistan aid
4. Afghanistan hires 10,000 tribesmen to secure polls
5. Terrorists ‘have attacked Pakistan nuclear sites three times’
6. British nuclear tests in the Pacific and Pacific Islanders
7. Labor moves to toughen up anti-terror laws
8. Indonesian government considers Hercules planes purchase

1. Diggers shoot Afghan cops at checkpoint, Mark Dodd, Australian, 2009-08-13

Australian troops have shot dead an Afghan policeman and seriously wounded another after they failed to stop at a checkpoint in southern Oruzgan province. An investigation has been launched into the incident which appears to have dramatically escalated, with Australian troops coming under fire from unknown assailants moments after the two Afghan men were shot.

• Australian troops involved in shooting incident in Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 2009-08-12

2. Hebei’s stake in uranium, Barry Fitzgerald, Age, 2009-08-12

China’s reach into the resources sector has been extended to include a direct investment in uranium exploration in Western Australia following the lifting of the State Government’s ban on uranium mining. Unlisted uranium explorer Raisama has told its seed-capital investors that the state-owned mining company of China’s Hebei province, Hebei Mining, has taken a 14.9 per cent stake in the company. The Hebei provincial Government currently has plans to build at least three nuclear reactors and is selectively securing strategic interests in uranium exploration companies internationally that it believes have the best potential to meet the province’s growing need for uranium.

3. DPJ vows civilian Afghanistan aid, Kyodo News, Japan Times, 2009-08-10

The Democratic Party of Japan has decided that if it wins the election it will focus on contributing personnel in Afghanistan after letting the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean run out in January. DPJ party leader Yukio Hatoyama suggested the DPJ will consider turning Japan’s stated three nonnuclear principles into law. These are not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory.

4. Afghanistan hires 10,000 tribesmen to secure polls, Rahim Faiez, AP, 2009-08-12

Authorities have hired some 10,000 Afghan tribesmen to protect this month’s presidential election, an Afghan official said, raising the possibility that village militias could be enlisted to fight against the Taliban. The hired guns highlight attempts by authorities to bolster security in Afghanistan’s insurgency-hit provinces but also underscore a renewed focus on raising tribal militias to deal with the growing Taliban threat just as Sunni Arab militias were engaged to help reduce violence in Iraq.

• As Afghan vote nears, Taliban step up intimidation, Carlotta Gall and Ruhullah Khapalwak, 2009-08-12

5. Terrorists ‘have attacked Pakistan nuclear sites three times’, Rhys Blakely, Times, 2009-08-11

Terrorists have attacked three of Pakistan’s military nuclear facilities in the past two years and there is a serious danger that they will gain access to the country’s atomic arsenal, according to a journal published by the US Military Academy at West Point.

• The terrorist threat to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, Shaun Gregory, CTC Sentinel, July 2009 [PDF, 1.1MB]

6. British nuclear tests in the Pacific and Pacific Islanders, Wadan Narsey, Island Business, August 2009

The recent British High Court judgment applies to the servicemen who were exposed to the radiation. There is no reference to the civilian Gilbertese residents who may also have been exposed to the radiation. Servicemen who sign up for duty for “King and Country” may be expected to also be aware of the associated risks to their person and health. Colonised people, living in their own homes and countries made no such commitment to the ruling imperial authorities. If Britain accepts liability for illnesses caused to her servicemen, the case for any Gilbertese victims should be stronger.

7. Labor moves to toughen up anti-terror laws, Jonathan Pearlman and Cynthia Banham, Age, 2009-08-13

Police will have to release arrested terror suspects after seven days or charge them and will be able to conduct searches without warrants under proposed changes to national security laws. Police will be allowed will be allowed to hold suspects for seven days, plus 20 hours of investigation time. The changes are designed to overcome problems highlighted by the Haneef affair, when an innocent suspect was arrested and held for 12 days before facing charges, which were later dropped.

8. Indonesian government considers Hercules planes purchase, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta Globe, 2009-08-12

The Ministry of Defense is studying an offer from the US government to buy Hercules planes, Air Force spokesman Bambang Soelisty said. The United States has offered 34 type-E Hercules planes, but Indonesia might only buy six units due to budget constraints. The government last week announced Rp 40 trillion ($4 billion) in state funding for the ministry next year. About Rp 11.3 trillion of that amount will be used to purchase new defense equipment.

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