APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, April 22, 2010

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APSNet 22 April 2010

  1. Cyber attacks on rise: McClelland
  2. Australians help capture Taliban leader
  3. Australia’s human rights framework
  4. Australian defence policy assessment
  5. Indonesia police officials arranged weapons, training for terrorists: report
  6. The role of the five power defence arrangements in the Southeast Asian security architecture
  7. Defence hits back on asylum boat
  8. Japan’s special outback delivery from outer space
  9. Wisdom rules in the Solomons Islands

1. Cyber attacks on rise: McClelland, Kirsty Needham, SMH, 2010-04-22

Australian companies and government departments will come under increasing and more complex cyber attack, the federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, warned. The ABC’s Four Corners program revealed that the mining giant Rio Tinto had come under cyber attack from China at the time of the arrest of its executive Stern Hu. The Chinese government has reacted angrily to suggestions it is involved in a growing wave of cyber attacks on Western interests.

2. Australians help capture Taliban leader, AAP, SMH, 2010-04-21

A Taliban insurgent commander, the suspected mastermind of bomb attacks which wounded four Australian soldiers in March, has been captured. Mullah Faqir’s capture represented a significant blow to the Taliban’s ability to plan and coordinate attacks against NATO-led coalition forces, says Australian Middle East commander Major General John Cantwell

3. Australia’s human rights framework, Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Government, 2010-04-21

This report outlines a range of measures to further protect and promote human rights in Australia. It acts on the key recommendations of the National Human Rights Consultation Committee and complements a number of actions the government is already taking to encourage greater inclusion and participation in the community.

4. Australian defence policy assessment – special report issue 30, Rod Lyon, Andrew Davies and Mark Thomson, ASPI, 2010-04-21 [390 Kb PDF]

The special report provides an overall assessment of Australian defence policy. It does so through three essays. The first looks at the government’s declaratory strategic policy; the second examines the force structure laid out in the 2009 Defence White Paper; and the third looks at defence funding.

5. Indonesia police officials arranged weapons, training for terrorists: report, Reuters, Jakarta Globe, 2010-04-21

Corruption in Indonesia is allowing Islamist militants access to weapons and falsified documents, according to a report. Some of Southeast Asia’s most notorious jihadist networks have used Indonesia as a base to plan and execute deadly bomb attacks on targets seen as un-Islamic.

6. The role of the five power defence arrangements in the Southeast Asian security architecture, Ralf Emmers, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, 2010-04-20, [PDF, 314KB]

The paper discusses the evolving Southeast Asian security architecture by focusing on the role of a “mini-lateral” defence coalition, the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). Examined from the Singaporean and Malaysian points of view, the paper investigates whether the FPDA complements or is being gradually supplanted by other regional security instruments in South Asia.

7. Defence hits back on asylum boat, Lindsay Murdoch, Age, 2010-04-22

The Australian Defence Force has awarded 51 commendations to its members who rescued the survivors of a boat that exploded off Ashmore Reef last year, killing five asylum seekers. The ADF has also set up a website that counters adverse publicity about mistakes ADF personnel made that led to the explosion on the SIEV 36.

8. Japan’s special outback delivery from outer space, Bridie Smith, Age, 2010-04-22

A Japanese spacecraft is expected to land in Australia in June, bringing with it samples from an asteroid found about 300 million kilometres from Earth. The unmanned Hayabusa spacecraft, launched in May 2003, is set to become the first spacecraft to bring asteroid material to Earth when it lands in Woomera in outback South Australia later this year.

  • Hayabusa, Wikipedia [accessed 2010-04-22]

9. Wisdom rules in the Solomons Islands, Rowan Callick, Australian, 2010-04-22

The Solomon Islands government shifts into caretaker mode this weekend in readiness for a June election, when almost half the 50 MPs may lose their seats. But every political leader and 88 per cent of the 600,000 population, according to a new survey, insist that the highly visible Australian presence must continue.