APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 3, 2008

Recommended Citation

"APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 3, 2008", APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 03, 2008, https://nautilus.org/apsnet/apsnet-3-november-2008/

APSNet 3 November 2008

  1. Chief of the Defence Force Statement [on Afghanistan]
  2. Ramos Horta Ready to Torpedo Gas Pipeline to Darwin
  3. Ramos-Horta Calls for more Australian Aid
  4. Alexander Downer with No Real Clue about what’s Going Down
  5. The Philippines: The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao
  6. Global Jigsaw: ASPI’s Strategic Assessment 2008
  7. National Adaptation Research Plan (Human Health): Consultation Draft

1. Chief of the Defence Force Statement [on Afghanistan], Angus Houston, Senate Estimates, Australian Parliament, 2008-10-28

I have been saying for at least 18 months that it is not for the military to provide governance, social structures, institutions and the favourable economic conditions necessary for the long term development of Afghanistan. The military are only one phase of a three phase approach that encompasses security, governance and development. And that is why we are not going to set the conditions for the withdrawal of military forces through military action alone.

2. Ramos Horta Ready to Torpedo Gas Pipeline to Darwin, Northern Territory News, 2008-10-31

East Timor president Jose Ramos Horta threatened to thwart the development of a $108 billion gas field rather than “surrender” the project to Darwin. He said East Timor was the most viable site for the Greater Sunrise oil and gas project. “The pipeline will go where it should go. The shortest route and cheapest,” he said. “Timor Leste cannot and will not bow to pressures from the Woodside CEO millionaires.”

3. Ramos-Horta Calls for more Australian Aid, ABC, 2008-10-31

The President of East Timor says his country is vulnerable to becoming a staging ground for people smugglers unless the Australian Government does more to help Timor’s maritime police. He said his country’s ‘weak and small’ maritime police force recently stopped two people smuggling boats that were headed for Australia and New Zealand. He says the Timor Sea is vulnerable to illicit operations unless more help is given.

4. Alexander Downer with No Real Clue about what’s Going Down, Hamish MacDonald, SMH, 2008-11-01

Under Kevin Rudd, we’ve been promised a wider approach to security. So far, we’ve seen little of it. DFAT runs its diplomatic service, our eyes and ears on political trends overseas and main instrument of persuasion and problem solving, on a budget of $822 million, about 4 per cent of what we spent on the military. ASIS gets $220 million, and the Office of National Assessments just less than $50 million.

5. The Philippines: The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao, ICG, 2008-10-23

A new Supreme Court ruling has ended hope of a peaceful resolution in the near future to the decades-old conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippines government. “Peace talks have broken down before but never in this way, with government institutions and the political elite fundamentally rejecting the achievements of the negotiators” says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group Senior Adviser.

6. Global Jigsaw: ASPI’s Strategic Assessment 2008, Rod Lyon and Christine Leah, ASPI, 2008-10-24

Australia will increasingly have to find its security in a world of power shifts and greater interconnectedness.
The US will remain the world’s strongest power. But we are witnessing a gradual relative dilution of US influence.
Proliferation remains a serious worry: we are likely to be living in a world of more nuclear-armed actors rather than fewer. In Asia, we need to help construct a new regional order. And we must learn to take the challenges of the South Pacific in our stride.

7. National Adaptation Research Plan (Human Health): Consultation Draft, A.J. McMichael et al, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University, October 2008 [652 KB, PDF]

The diversity of health risks from climate change presents a direct challenge to the health sector – including acute health-care and the public health system. This Plan will guide researchers generating the information Australia needs to develop an effective and equitable portfolio of adaptive strategies.

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Richard Tanter,
Project Co-ordinator