APSNet 14 April 2008

1. Defence Deal for Controversial Firm
2. Defence White Paper Puts Business in the Front Line
3. Canberra Mute as Timor Accused Walk Free
4. Lift Your Game, PM Tells Pakistan
5. British, Russian Support May Not Save Ambitious Nuclear Power Club
6. Navy Nets Biggest Illegal Fishing Haul
7. Australia’s Future in the World

1. Defence Deal for Controversial Firm, Samantha Maiden, Australian, 2008-04-11

An Australian-owned security company that shot dead two women in Baghdad had provided “logistical support” to troops in Afghanistan. The Unity Resources Group provides logistical support to the ADF, for example, in the provision of construction materials as part of Australia’s contribution to the Netherlands-led Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province.

• Unity Resources Group
• Security Companies Doing Business in Iraq, US Embassy, Baghdad

2. Defence White Paper Puts Business in the Front Line, John Kerin, AFR*, 2008-04-11

The Chief of Army, Ken Gillespie, told a defence industry conference in Canberra that the next white paper would have to take account of China, India and Russia all increasing their strategic weight and their influence, while instability in the Middle East would persist. He said an inward looking Europe could have a big impact on Australia shouldering aid responsibilities in the Pacific.
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3. Canberra Mute as Timor Accused Walk Free, Tom Hyland, Age, 2008-04-13

Canberra is maintaining a diplomatic silence over Indonesia’s failure to punish anyone implicated in the mass murders that led to Australia’s military intervention in East Timor in 1999. The release last week of former militia leader Eurico Guterres after a Jakarta court overthrew his conviction means all those charged by Indonesian prosecutors over the violence that killed about 1500 people have now been freed.

• Eurico Barros Gomes Guterres, Masters of Terror, (eds) Richard Tanter, Desmond Ball, and Gerry van Klinken, Lanham, 2006

4. Lift Your Game, PM Tells Pakistan, Phillip Coorey, SMH, 2008-04-12

Kevin Rudd has harshly criticised Pakistan’s dwindling efforts to curb terrorism in Afghanistan and was to make his displeasure known last night during a meeting with Pakistan’s President, Pervez Musharraf. Mr Rudd said that unless Pakistan lifted its game, it would undermine any gains from agreements reached by NATO countries last week on how to fight the war in Afghanistan.

5. British, Russian Support May Not Save Ambitious Nuclear Power Club, Richard Weitz, World Politics Review, 2008-04-10

American officials stress that GNEP members will not need to foreswear the right to enrich uranium and that GNEP policies would be determined by consensus. Although such reassurances may have facilitated the entry of Australia and Canada into the program, they have aroused concern among non-proliferation experts that GNEP will have the perverse effect of encouraging the proliferation of sensitive nuclear technologies.

• Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, Statement of Principles, [signed] John Carlson for Australia, 2007-09-16 [254 KB, PDF]

6. Navy Nets Biggest Illegal Fishing Haul, Mark Dodd, Australian, 2008-04-10

The Navy has apprehended a 34-metre Indonesian fishing boat caught poaching in Australia’s northern waters, the biggest illegal foreign fishing craft seized in 12 months. It was intercepted seven nautical miles inside the economic exclusion zone by a new patrol boat. Sophisticated satellite navigation equipment has been reported on board, indicating the vessel could be part of a well-organised criminal racket.

• New Vessel to Protect Remote North-West Waters, Press Release, DEHA, 2008-04-07
• Regional Fisheries Issues Affecting Australia, DAFF
• Maritime Boundary Definitions, Geoscience Australia
• Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia relating to Cooperation in Fisheries [1993] ATS 18
• Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Establishing an Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary and Certain Seabed Boundaries [1997] ATNIF 4

7. Australia’s Future in the World, Background Paper, Australia 2020 Summit, April 2008 [649KB, PDF]

As an active middle power, Australia must be smart and creative in the exercise of its international influence. A key question for the Summit will be how Australia should best work through global and regional institutions to address the shifting distribution of global power. Are there new forms of engagement that need to be promoted between Australia and developing countries in our region?

• Australia’s Security and Prosperity: Ideas for 2020, William Maley, Hilary Charlesworth, Hugh White, Andrew Macintyre, Robin Jeffrey, RSPAS, ANU, April 2008 [187 KB, PDF]

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Richard Tanter,
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