APSNet 20 July 2009

1. Terror act will justify clamp on hardliners
2. Defense Minister: budget boost mostly for upkeep
3. Who killed Drew Grant?
   
4. Afghan link is ill-timed rhetoric
5. Police to be armed for Afghan job
6. Courted by Europe? Advancing Australia’s relations with the European Union in the new security environment
7. More talks not troops, says President Hamid Karzai
8. Chinese interest in Lynas raises strategic issues
9. Stop interfering, China tells Australians

1. Terror act will justify clamp on hardliners, Mark Forbes, Age, 2009-07-19

Indonesia will respond by intensifying the search for Noordin Top, which has already rounded up most of Jemaah Islamiah’s militants, and further upgrading security around high-profile targets. The latest bombings will have a polarising effect, paradoxically strengthening support for Yudhoyono’s anti-terror initiatives while boosting Top’s standing among hardliners.

• Aussie executives targeted in JI hit?, Geoff Thompson, ABC, 2009-07-20
• Jemaah Islamiyah: A renewed struggle? Noor Huda Ismail and Carl Ungerer, ASPI, 2009-07-16
• ‘Rattled’ Yudhoyono casts suspicion on rival, Tom Allard, Age, 2009-07-20
• SBY’s Speech on the Jakarta bombings: full text, Jakarta Globe, 2009-07-20

2. Defense Minister: budget boost mostly for upkeep, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta Globe, 2009-07-17

The proposed Rp 7 trillion ($693 million) budget increase for the Armed Forces will be used for maintenance and servicing the country’s aging military hardware, not the procurement of new weaponry, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said.

3. Who killed Drew Grant? Tom Allard, Age, 2009-07-18

Indonesia’s Defence Minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has conceded that “rogue” military personnel or “deserters” could be behind the spate of shootings at Freeport but emphatically denied any sanctioned military role. Sudarsono also alluded to a possible conspiracy involving other countries to shut down Freeport, seemingly identifying Australia as a potential interested party.

4. Afghan link is ill-timed rhetoric, Daniel Flitton, Age, 2009-07-20

Australia’s leaders are wrong to link two separate tragedies in a cynical effort to win public support for an unpopular war. Australia is in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and to bolster the ability of the Government in Kabul to provide security across the country. The rhetoric of Afghanistan as a “hotbed of international terrorism” is stale.

• ‘Fight must continue’ despite soldier’s death, ABC, 2009-07-19
• Afghanistan’s valley of the shadow of death, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2009-07-20
• Afghanistan toll tipped to increase, John Kerin, AFR*, 2009-07-20
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• ADF Casualties, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute
• FOB Mashal, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute

5. Police to be armed for Afghan job, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2009-07-16

Australian Federal Police going to Afghanistan to help train their hard-pressed Afghan counterparts will be armed for their own protection. They will be stationed with Australian and Dutch troops at Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan Province and if they move out “beyond the wire” of the heavily fortified base, they will have a strong military escort.

6. Courted by Europe? Advancing Australia’s relations with the European Union in the new security environment, Nina Markovic, APH, 2009-07-14 [PDF, 560KB]

Australia and the EU’s cooperation on security in a broader sense is a way forward in overcoming mutual differences and focusing on common goals. In this regard, the inclusion of Australia as a strategic partner of the EU in the Asia Pacific region could only be of benefit to both parties. Australia might also need to adjust in the foreseeable future—diplomatically, strategically and politically—to the EU’s growing collective weight and global agenda in the international arena.

• Australia and NATO, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute

7. More talks not troops, says President Hamid Karzai, Christina Lamb, Australian, 2009-07-20

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has urged the West to develop a new strategy for Afghanistan, warning that more troops will not necessarily improve security. Mr Karzai called for negotiations with the Taliban. Even Taliban leader Mullah Omar should be encouraged to attend talks, he said.

8. Chinese interest in Lynas raises strategic issues, Jamie Freed, SMH, 2009-07-18

China’s stranglehold on the world’s rare earths market essential ingredients in advanced weaponry, fighter jets and radar has raised concerns about the potential national security implications of a Chinese interest in Lynas Corp. China controls about 97 per cent of the world’s production of a collection of elements called rare earths, and Lynas’s Mount Weld deposit in Western Australia is one of only two globally significant advanced projects outside of China.

9. Stop interfering, China tells Australians, Stephen McDonell, ABC, 2009-07-17

China says Australians who are criticising Beijing over its handling of the case of detained Australia executive Stern Hu should stop trying to stir up trouble. China’s government spokesman, Qin Gang, says the actions of the Rio employees have caused losses to China’s interests and that Stern Hu and Rio Tinto are fully aware of this.

China ‘not interested’ in Rio espionage angle

, John Garnaut, Age, 2009-07-20

China’s iron hand

, Stephen Wyatt, AFR*, 2009-07-18

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Dealing with China the proper way

, Brian Toohey, AFR*, 2009-07-18

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