APSNet for 20070426
Austral Peace and Security Network (APSNet)
Twice weekly report from the Nautilus Institute at RMIT, Australia.
Thursday 26 April 2007
- Customs Are All at Sea in our Uncharted Waters
- Troops in Iraq under Fire for the Third Time
- After Occupation: A Strategy for Iraq
- Labor to Boost Defence Spend
- Defence Backs Spanish Warship for $7bn Deal
- Oil Search Looks to Exxon in PNG
- Talks on EAGA-Northern Territory Trade Ties
- TNI, Australian Armed Forces Agree to Enhance Cooperation
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Customs Are All at Sea in our Uncharted Waters, Simon Kearney, Australian, 2007-04-23
Efforts to protect Australia’s northern waters are being compromised by the lack of charts covering thousands of square kilometres of ocean. Military intelligence has identified that many sightings of illegal fishing vessels roughly correspond to the blank sections on the chart. The navy has begun charting these areas. However, the work is going to take years to close the gaps.
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Australia’s Maritime Zones in the Torres Strait, Maritime Boundaries Unit, Geoscience Australia [PDF]
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Australia’s Maritime Boundaries, Geoscience Australia, 2006-6-14
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Troops in Iraq under Fire for the Third Time, Tom Allard, SMH, 2007-04-26
Australians soldiers have come under fire in southern Iraq, this time as they were recovering light armoured vehicles damaged by an earlier roadside blast. The latest incident caps a violent 24 hours – with three separate attacks on Australian forces – in which three members of the Darwin-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment were wounded.
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After Occupation: A Strategy for Iraq, Ian Shapiro, OpenDemocracy, 2007-04-25
Unless the US leaves, it is hard to see how it can diminish the widespread doubts the country has created across the region about American imperial ambitions there. And assuaging those doubts will be a vital first step to developing successful containment strategies for terrorism emanating from the Middle East.
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House Passes Iraq Pullout Timetable, Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post, 2007-04-26
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Labor to Boost Defence Spend, John Kerin, AFR*, 2007-04-24
A Labor government would consider boosting defence spending beyond 2 per cent of gross domestic product and commission a fresh defence white paper to meet post-September 11 security challenges, defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said. “When we were still active in Vietnam, we were spending 4.2 per cent of GDP.”
*Subscription required-
Speech to International Affairs Conference, Joel Fitzgibbon, 2007 National Security and Defence Election Series, ALP, 2006-04-26
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Defence Backs Spanish Warship for $7bn Deal, Patrick Walters, Australian, 2007-04-25
Spain’s F100 air warfare destroyer will become Australia’s new front-line warship if the Howard Government accepts the Defence Department’s firm recommendation on the $7 billion contract. In backing the Spanish warship, Defence chiefs have rejected the navy’s bid for a larger alternative based on the US Arleigh Burke class destroyer.
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Oil Search Looks to Exxon in PNG, Jamie Freed, SMH, 2007-04-24
Oil search has confirmed that an ExxonMobil-operated liquefied natural gas plant in Papua New Guinea is the most likely option for commercialising its huge undeveloped gas resource. The ExxonMobil-led joint venture, which also includes Santos, is studying production capacities. The project is based on the Hides field.
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Location Maps, OilSearch
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Talks On EAGA-Northern Territory Trade Ties Set This Week, Bernama.com, 2007-04-23
The Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is to formalise trade links with Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) this week. Both the public and private sectors will convene at Darwin, Australia, to concretise trade ties between EAGA and NT as well as work to fully revitalise cooperation within the growth area.
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TNI, Australian Armed Forces Agree to Enhance Cooperation, Antara, 2007-04-19
Australia agreed to enhance cooperation with Indonesia in military operations other than war, humanitarian operations, war against terrorism, and in the operations of UN peacekeeping forces. The agreement was taken up in bilateral talks between Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto, his Australian counterpart Marshal Allan Grant (Angus) Houston, and Australian Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen P.F. Leahy.