APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 17, 2005

Recommended Citation

"APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 17, 2005", APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, November 17, 2005, https://nautilus.org/apsnet/apsnet-for-20051117/

APSNet for 20051117

Austral Peace and Security Network (APSNet)

Thursday 17 November 2005

Bi-weekly report from the Nautilus Institute at RMIT, Australia.

  1. Aussie In US Spy Scandal
  2. Donald Rumsfeld: Our Ties Could Not Be Firmer
  3. Troops In Iraq Longer: Hill
  4. Case Against The Sydney Accused
  5. Sham Poll Sealed Papua’s Fate, Study Finds
  6. OPCW Extends National Implementation Deadline
  7. Special Report: Chemical And Other Weapons Dumped In The Pacific
  1. Aussie In US Spy Scandal, Michael McKenna and Patrick Walters, Australian, 2005-11-17

    A retired RAN lieutenant-commander, is the subject of an internal Defence investigation over links to US engineer Noshir Gowadia, who has been charged in the US with disclosing military secrets – which could be “used to cause injury” to the US – to eight governments and corporations.

  2. Donald Rumsfeld: Our Ties Could Not Be Firmer, Donald, Rumsfeld, Australian, 2005-11-16

    Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and I will arrive in Adelaide [17.11.2005] for meetings … This annual Australia-US Ministerial meeting [AUSMIN] is the senior forum for discussing the alliance … We have made progress on the memorandum of understanding, signed last year, pledging to work together on developing systems to defend our respective countries from ballistic missile attacks.

  3. Troops In Iraq Longer: Hill, News Limited, Australian, 2005-11-17

    Australian troops in Iraq due to return home next year may now need to stay on. Senator Hill said 450 troops currently stationed in Iraq might have to stay longer than May 2006 to assist Japanese military engineers in the troubled nation.

  4. Case Against The Sydney Accused, Marian Wilkinson, SMH, 2005-11-15

    Police allege the eight Sydney terrorist suspects had ordered and bought explosives, underwent terrorist training on two sprawling country stations outside Bourke, and had scoped out potential targets, including possibly the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights.

  5. Sham Poll Sealed Papua’s Fate, Study Finds, AAP, SMH, 2005-11-17

    A key 1969 vote on the future of West New Guinea was a sham orchestrated by Jakarta, a study commissioned by the Dutch Government says. That vote – which made the province, now called Papua, part of Indonesia – has been followed by decades of military abuses.

    Of related interest: Information about the launch of the study ‘Act of Free Choice’ by Dr P.J. Drooglever. Published by Uitgeverij Boom

  6. OPCW Extends National Implementation Deadline,
    Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire, 2005-11-16

    Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention gave fellow member countries another year to enact the domestic legislative and administrative measures required to implement the treaty. Delegates agreed to push the deadline back to the next states parties conference in December 2006.

    Australia has been party to the convention from its inception in 1997.

    Of related interest: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Briefing note: Chemical And Other Weapons Dumped In The Pacific

Many chemical weapons that were dumped in the Pacific after World War Two are still unaccounted for. Similarly, nuclear material used in nuclear tests in the Pacific have not been completely removed.

Recent news:

  • Hunt For US Weapons Dump Off NZ Coast, NZAP, NZ Herald, 2005-11-02.
  • US-made weapons litter 30 sites off New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Italy, France, India, Pakistan, Japan, Denmark and Norway, according to a report by the chemical weapon historical research and response team at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, US.

Of related interest:

Articles on this issue that can be accessed here:
Sites of interest:
  1. Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Warfare Armament and Arms Limitation
  2. Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Chemical & Biological Weapons Resources: Destruction and Disposal
    [See especially the Johnson Island case.]
  3. Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Chemical and Biological Weapons: Possession and Programs Past and Present
  4. DFAT, Australia’s National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention