APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 3, 2010

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APSNet 3 November 2010

  1. WA joins the space race
  2. Fighter jets face delays of up to three more years
  3. New Zealand shakes up defence forces
  4. Afghan warlord’s private army trained in Australia
  5. German Defense Minster urges more Chinese involvement in Afghanistan
  6. Swift army response to torture shows Indonesia is changing
  7. Japan, Vietnam tie up on reactors
  8. Speech at the Wikileaks-Iraq War Logs Press Conference
  9. Labor in deal to deport Afghans

1. WA joins the space race, AAP, WA Today, 2010-10-30

Australia will become a key partner in the international battle for space supremacy, with Western Australia to host a new multimillion-dollar US defence base to spy on foreign satellites and keep watch on dangerous space junk. It is understood the base is likely to be built at the top secret Harold E Holt Naval communications station at Exmouth, in a major expansion of the US military footprint within Australia. It will have major technology and intelligence spin-offs, putting Australia at the forefront of an emerging battle between nations staking claim for territory in space occupied by $600 billion of civil and military hardware.

2. Fighter jets face delays of up to three more years, Dan Oakes, SMH, 2010-11-03

The troubled Joint Strike Fighter project could cost billions of dollars more than expected and run years behind schedule, reports emerging from the US suggest. It has been reported this week that the Pentagon is bracing for a briefing that will show the development of the jet could cost $5 billion more than expected and be delayed by three years.

3. New Zealand shakes up defence forces, Dominique Schwartz, ABC, 2010-11-03

New Zealand’s military chief has welcomed a white paper outlining the first overhaul of the country’s defence forces in more than a decade. The government says it wants a more mobile defence force that can be deployed in the region. The white paper sets out priorities for the defence force over the next 25 years.

4. Afghan warlord’s private army trained in Australia, Rafael Epstein, Age, 2010-10-29

Senior militia fighters loyal to a notorious Afghan warlord have been flown to Australia to train with elite special forces as part of a covert strategy to strengthen military operations against the Taliban. The government did not reveal that the men were in Australia, even though their trip coincided with the parliamentary debate last week on the Afghan war.

5. German Defense Minster urges more Chinese involvement in Afghanistan, Natalia Dannenberg, DW world, 2010-11-02

Karl-Theodor Zu Guttenberg says he wants China to get more involved in stabilizing Afghanistan. He also called on NATO to work more closely with China on the exchange of information about cyber attacks. Zu Guttenberg met with his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie, calling on Beijing to do more to help stabilize Afghanistan in the face of a growing insurgency and worsening violence.

6. Swift army response to torture shows Indonesia is changing, Tom Allard, SMH, 2010-11-03

At the Cendrawasih military command in Jayapura, Papua, five Indonesian soldiers will appear in court charged with the terrible abuse of two Papuan men, one burnt repeatedly on his genitals, the other threatened with decapitation. For Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the quick administration of justice is proof that the new, democratic Indonesia takes human rights seriously, and there is no need for the international community to press him on the issue.

7. Japan, Vietnam tie up on reactors, Japan Times, 2010-10-30

Japan and Vietnam agreed Sunday to work toward the early signing of a bilateral nuclear cooperation pact, with Japan securing contracts to build two nuclear power plants, paving the way for Japanese firms to export nuclear power generation technologies to the fast-growing economy.

8. Speech at the Wikileaks-Iraq War Logs Press Conference, John Sloboda, October 2010

Day by day, secretly, soldiers all over Iraq have been writing detailed reports of every violent death they cause, witness, or are informed about. Dates, times, precise locations, names, ages, and occupations of victims, have all been stored away in these logs. Based on our careful sampling, we estimate that when fully analysed, these logs will bring to public knowledge more than 15,000 previously unreported civilian deaths, to add to the 107,000 which area already in the IBC data base. 15,000 is a huge number, equivalent to five 9/11s or nearly 300 7/7s.

9. Labor in deal to deport Afghans, Nick Butterly, West Australian, 2010-11-02

Hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers could be deported to their homeland from as early as next year under a deal being brokered between the Gillard Government and Kabul. The agreement would be between Kabul, Canberra and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The Australia-Afghanistan agreement would be modelled on an agreement between Kabul and Britain under which Britain deports about 90 Afghans a month.

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