1. Australia: Illegals to Be Held On Prison Hulk
2. State of Emergency Declared in PNG Southern Highlands Province
3. Defence Outlay Must Rise
4. RMIT Wins Lucrative Defence Contract
5. Australia Close to Surveillance Ability
6. Fierce Fighting in S. Philippines
7. Bomb Kills Three Thai Policemen
8. EU May Extend Peace Mission in Aceh
9. H5N1 Ravages Bali Chickens

1. Illegals to Be Held On Prison Hulk, Simon Kearney, Australian, 2006-08-03

   Illegal fishermen and asylum-seekers intercepted in Australian waters will be held at sea on an armed, purpose-built prison ship for up to a month at a time under new border-security provisions. The vessel will have 12.7mm deck-mounted machineguns and small inflatable dinghies to board and seize illegal vessels. It will have a separate 30-berth detention centre, quarantine zone, isolation area and exercise deck.

    

2. State of Emergency Declared in PNG Southern Highlands Province, RNZI, 2006-08-02

   A state of emergency has been declared in PNG’s southern highland province. A police official says at least 800 police personnel and a platoon of soldiers will be deployed in the area at the end of this week. He says curfews could be put in place, along with an amnesty period for the surrender of illegal firearms, many used by gangs supporting local political strongmen.

    

3. Defence Outlay Must Rise, Says Howard, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2006-08-02

   Australia will have to spend more on defence to meet heavy commitments and to support deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Our defence forces are very heavily taxed at the moment,” Prime Minister Mr Howard said. “It is going to be like that now for years into the future because we are seen by the rest of the world as the sort of security guardian of our region.”

    

4. RMIT Wins Lucrative Defence Contract, RMIT Openline, 2006-08-02

   RMIT University’s Wackett Aerospace Centre will partner with Australian Aerospace Pty Ltd to provide research support to the ADF’s AIR 9000 Program. The program will upgrade Australia’s defence helicopters over the next 20 years. The program is estimated to cost $5 billion.

   • The Business of Defence – Sustaining Capability, Committee for Economic Development of Australia

   • MRH 90 to Replace Sea King and Black Hawk Helicopters, Media Release, Department of Defence, 2006-06-19

   • NH 90 helicopter, GlobalSecurity.org

      

5. Australia Close to Surveillance Ability, AAP, SMH, 2006-07-28

   The Australian Defence Force is one step closer to fielding unmanned surveillance aircraft to watch over Australia’s vast ocean region. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said the government had given approval in principle to a $1-$1.5 billion project to acquire what’s called a Multi-mission Unmanned Aerial System (MUAS).

   • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), GlobalSecurity.org [regularly updated]

   • The Australian Defence Aerospace Sector Strategic Plan: Strengthening Military Aerospace Capability in Australia, Defence Materiel Organisation, 2003 [large PDF file: 3.4.Mb]

      

6. Fierce Fighting in S. Philippines, Sarah Toms, BBC, 2006-08-02

   The Philippine military says five members of the Muslim group the Abu Sayyaf have been killed in fierce fighting in the south of the country. Rockets have been fired and bombs dropped on a base of suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo Island. Muslim separatists have been fighting in the south since the 1960s. The conflict has killed over 120,000.

    

7. Bomb Kills Three Thai Policemen, BBC, 2006-08-02

   Three Thai policemen have been killed in a bomb explosion in the country’s restive south. The officers were inspecting railway tracks in Chana district in Songkhla province when the explosion occurred. The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents in the Thai south, where more than 1,300 people have been killed since January 2004.

    

8. EU May Extend Peace Mission in Aceh, Shawn Donnan, Financial Times, 2006-08-02

   The European Union is preparing to extend its peace monitoring mission in the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province of Aceh until the end of this year following a request from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that it stays through local elections due later this year.

    

9. H5N1 Ravages Bali Chickens, AP, The Standard, 2006-08-02

   Hundreds of dead chickens found on Bali have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Around 300 birds died of the virus over the past week, said I Gusti Ngurah Sandjaja in Bali’s westernmost Jembrana district. “Fortunately, there are no indications that the virus has spread to humans,” he said.

   • Health Minister Puts All of Thailand on Bird Flu Alert, Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, University of Minnesota [CIDRAP] News, 2006-08-01

   • More Avian Flu Feared Near Site of Indonesian Family Cases [North Sumatra], Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, University of Minnesota [CIDRAP] News, 2006-08-01

      

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