APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, March 2, 2009

Recommended Citation

"APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, March 2, 2009", APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, March 02, 2009, https://nautilus.org/apsnet/apsnet-2-march-2009/

APSNet 2 March 2009

  1. Japan’s Nuclear Sector Takes Uranium Stake
  2. Secret Talks With Taliban Under Way
  3. Diggers of Chora Defying the Danger
  4. Afghanistan Insurgency Will Never be Defeated: Canadian PM
  5. Aceh on a Knife’s Edge, Sidney Jones
  6. Half of Super Hornets Shipment to be Made Electronic Warfare Ready
  7. Economic Lifeline Cast to Indonesia
  8. PNG Govt Wants to Boost Australian Police Numbers in Hotspots

1. Japan’s Nuclear Sector Takes Uranium Stake, Peter Klinger, Age, 2009-03-02

Japan’s nuclear industry has taken its second strategic stake in Western Australia’s fledgling uranium industry in less than a year, after agreeing at the weekend to buy into Mega Uranium’s Lake Maitland project in the Goldfields region. The proposed buy-in, one of the state’s biggest uranium deposits, still requires Australian Government approval but further signals Mega Uranium’s intention to become WA’s first producer of yellowcake.

2. Secret Talks With Taliban Under Way, Al Jazeera, 2009-02-27

Secret negotiations are under way to bring troops fighting alongside the Taliban into Afghanistan’s political process. The talks, between Taliban-linked mediators, Western officials and the Afghan government, are believed to involve a proposal for the return to Afghanistan of Gulbaldin Hekmatyar, the country’s former prime minister, who has been in hiding for seven years.

3. Diggers of Chora Defying the Danger, SMH, 2009-03-01

The convoy to Chora and the scene at the river crossing reveal glimpses of the perils and the complex human terrain confronting the Australians based in Tarin Kowt and a string of nearby smaller bases, such as the one at Chora, called Forward Operating Base Locke.

  • Chora, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute
  • Tarin Kowt, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute

4. Afghanistan Insurgency Will Never be Defeated: Canadian PM, ABC, 2009-03-02

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the insurgency in Afghanistan cannot be defeated and his country will not provide more troops without a clear exit strategy. Mr Harper told CNN that Afghanistan needed an indigenous government that could manage the insurgency and was not perceived as foreign-installed.

5. Aceh on a Knife’s Edge, Sidney Jones, Inside Indonesia, Jan-March 2009

We’ve had peace in Aceh for three and a half years, since the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by representatives of GAM (Free Aceh Movement) and the Indonesian government in August 2005. But no one should assume that peace is irreversible. Anxieties were alrÍeady increasing last September and today are so high that I’m beginning to wonder if the peace process in Aceh might be at risk.

6. Half of Super Hornets Shipment to be Made Electronic Warfare Ready, Australian, 2009-02-27

Twelve of 24 Boeing Super Hornets on order for the RAAF are to be rewired to give them an advanced electronic warfare capability. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced the Government would spend $35 million for the aircraft to be modified as they move down the Boeing production line in the US. What the RAAF will get are F/A-18F Super Hornets able to be upgraded to full EA-18G Growler configuration, comparable to the Growlers now entering service with the US Navy.

7. Economic Lifeline Cast to Indonesia, Angus Grigg and Louise Dodson, AFR*, 2009-03-02

Australia is expected to approve a $US1 billion emergency loan to Indonesia, allowing South-East Asia’s biggest economy to finance its budget deficit and maintain development spending.
* Subscription required.

8. PNG Govt Wants to Boost Australian Police Numbers in Hotspots, RNZI, 2009-02-2702

The Papua New Guinea government wants to boost Australian police numbers in some of the country’s toughest spots. The Enga Province Governor, Peter Ipatas, repeated his calls for more Australian police to be deployed in his province while urging the government to overlook past legal disputes over immunity issues.

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Richard Tanter,
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