1. Papua Question Hangs over New Pact with Indonesia
2. Australian Aircraft Could Help Safeguard Strait of Malacca, Says Malaysia
3. Fiji Army Opposes Foreign Intervention
4. Solomons: Aussie Troops Face Sex Claims
5. Reconciliation on East Timor Streets
6. Violence in Afghanistan Increasing
7. Documents Show Austrade Knew of AWB’s Link to Alia
8. Australia Implements UN Security Council Sanctions against North Korea

1. Papua Question Hangs over New Pact with Indonesia, Morgan Mellish, AFR*, 2006-11-14

   Australia and Indonesia last night signed a historic new security pact that reinforces co-operation on counter-terrorism, border security and intelligence, and includes a pledge to respect each other’s territorial integrity.
   * Subscription required.

   • Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and Australia on the Framework for Security Cooperation [signed 2006-11-13]

   • Australia Requests Indonesia Add Fishing to Pact, ABC, 2006-11-16

   • Indonesia: No More Fooling Around, Clinton Fernandes, New Matilda, 2006-11-15

      

2. Australian Aircraft Could Help Safeguard Strait of Malacca, Says Malaysia, China Post, 2006-11-15

   Australian surveillance aircraft may soon help spot rogue vessels entering the Strait of Malacca as part of a regional effort to secure the world’s busiest waterway, Malaysia’s defense chief said. Adm. Mohamad Anwar Mohamad said the potential assistance was “at the discussion level” and would soon be debated by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia – the three nations straddling the 900-kilometer (550-mile) strait.

    

3. Fiji Army Opposes Foreign Intervention, Fiji Times, 2006-11-15

   The Fiji army has blasted a suggestion by Australia’s Prime Minister for Pacific countries to discuss a possible intervention in Fiji. Mr Howard made the suggestion on the lines of the Biketawa Agreement, which set up the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The military described the agreement to be in line with an “Australian aggressive strategy to assert its interests in the region”.

   • Biketawa Declaration [PDF]

   • Fiji Military Demands Removal of Police Commissioner Hughes, RNZI, 2006-11-15

4. Aussie Troops Face Sex Claims, Australian, 2006-11-15

   Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is to seek to remove the legal immunity of the Australian-led peacekeeping mission, accusing its personnel of fuelling an illegal sex industry. The security mission is made up of more than 300 police and 200 military personnel from Australia and neighbouring South Pacific nations. The head of RAMSI, former senior Australian diplomat Tim George, denied the allegations.

   • PNG Pulls out of RAMSI, Post Courier, 2006-11-16

5. Reconciliation on East Timor Streets, AFP, SMH, 2006-11-16

   Nearly 1000 soldiers and police paraded on the streets of Dili yesterday. The rally included some 600 members of the FRETILIN National Armed Forces (F-DTL) and about 300 members of the national police (PNTL). The area was tightly guarded by armed members of the UN police. The rally followed a series of meetings between the country’s leaders, the heads of the police and military, the church and top politicians.

   • East Timor: Army Official, Militia Leader Must Hand in Weapons Says PM, ADNKronosInternational (AKI), 2006-11-15

   • Timor-Leste and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: An Overview from Civil Society, Santina Soares and Thomas Freitas, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Conference, Oslo, Norway, 2006-10-16

      

6. Violence in Afghanistan Increasing, AFP, Australian, 2006-11-16

   Insurgent violence in Afghanistan this year was likely to be double that of 2005 and would continue, the US military’s top intelligence official told Congress today. General Michael Maples, director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, said insurgents had expanded their abilities and operations even while incurring serious combat losses.

    

7. Documents Show Austrade Knew of AWB’s Link to Alia, Richard Baker, SMH, 2006-11-14

   Documents lodged with the Cole inquiry establish for the first time that Australian officials had an intimate knowledge of AWB’s dealings with the trucking firm Alia in 2003. This demolishes the Government’s claim that it was unaware of the AWB-Alia relationship until the United Nations Volcker inquiry, which began in 2004.

    

8. Australia Implements UN Security Council Sanctions against North Korea, Media Release, Minister for Foreign Affairs, 2006-11-14

   Australia has taken action to fully implement in Australian law the UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea. The new Charter of the UN (Sanctions – DPRK) Regulations 2006 implement Australia’s obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which imposes a targeted trade embargo, financial sanctions and travel sanctions against North Korea. The Regulations took effect on 10 November 2006.

   • Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Regulations 2006, Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 283

Free newsletter subscriptions

• Australian region (this newsletter).

• Southeast Asia.

• Northeast Asia.

• East Asia Science and Security.