1. Navy Fires on Indonesians
2. Defence Force Apologises for Soldiers’ Desecration of Fretilin Flag
3. Abe Calls for ‘Broader Asia’ that Includes India, Australia, US
4. Nuclear Alliance Quandary
5. Australia Needs US Regional Help
6. Negotiation Has its Time and Place, but so Does the Use of Force
7. Stopping a Nuclear Arms Race between America and China
8. Applying the Paradox of Prevention: Eradicate HIV

1. Navy Fires on Indonesians, Nick Butterly, Age, 2007-08-22

   The Australian navy has used a machine-gun on an Indonesian boat for the first time under new rules of engagement aimed at driving illegal fishing boats and people smugglers from our waters. It is believed a patrol boat fired a short burst from a mounted gun into the side of the vessel during a pursuit about a month ago in an effort to force the captain to stop.

   • Navy Fires on ‘Illegal’ Foreign Fishing Boat, Graeme Dobell with Brendan Nelson, ABC, 2007-08-23 [Transcript]

   • Transcript of Doorstop Interview, Adelaide, Brendan Nelson, Minister for Defence MIN 220807/07, 2007-08-23

   • About Operation Resolute, Department of Defence

2. Defence Force Apologises for Soldiers’ Desecration of Fretilin Flag, Lindsay Murdoch, SMH, 2007-08-21

   A Defence spokeswoman in Canberra confirmed that a group of Australian soldiers took three Fretilin flags without permission. But the spokeswoman would not comment on the claim that the flags were torn up and soldiers wiped their backsides with one as they drove off. The Defence spokeswoman said the actions of a small number of ISF soldiers involved in the taking of the flags were “highly inappropriate”.

3. Abe Calls for ‘Broader Asia’ that Includes India, Australia, US, Japan Today, 2007-08-22

   Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for enhancing Japan’s relations with India to realize his vision of establishing a prosperous region in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The envisaged region, dubbed a “broader Asia” or “the arc of freedom and prosperity,” would eventually incorporate the United States and Australia, Abe told the Indian parliament, Japanese officials said.

4. Nuclear Alliance Quandary, Katharine Murphy and Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2007-08-21

   Senior Government players are exploring whether Australia can become part of a controversial global nuclear alliance in a special deal whereby the country would not be required to take back radioactive waste. Discussions are under way that could see Australia and Canada made part of the powerful Washington-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership on a “parallel” track, without having to assume full membership of the organisation.

   • Australia’s New Nuclear Ambitions, Richard Broinowski, Austral Policy Forum 06-24A, 2006-07-24

   • Senior International Energy Officials Issue Joint Statement in Support of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, US Department of Energy, 2007-05-21

5. Australia Needs US Regional Help, Joshua Frydenberg, Age, 2007-08-22

   Herein lies the challenge for Australian policy makers of both political persuasions – how do we ensure continued US engagement with our region, including leveraging off the strength of our bilateral relationship whenever possible? Nowhere could this be more important than in national security. When it comes to counter-terrorism, American capacity-building and training is absolutely critical to the regional effort.

6. Negotiation Has its Time and Place, but so Does the Use of Force, Gareth Evans, Age, 2007-08-22

   Australia must take part in devising guidelines for the use of force. The point about introducing such agreed criteria is not that their application will produce push-button consensus, but that they will necessarily concentrate everyone’s attention on not just one or two, but all the critical issues. Getting agreement on such criteria of legitimacy remains for me one of the great pieces of unfinished international security business.

7. Stopping a Nuclear Arms Race between America and China, Policy Brief, Hugh White, Lowy Institute, August 2007

   China and America may be at the start of a destabilising nuclear arms race, as China tries to preserve its ability to deter US nuclear attack in the light of US missile defences and nuclear system upgrades. That would undermine hopes that the US and China can build a stable cooperative relationship as China’s power grows. So Australia has a big interest in trying to help head off the risk of an arms race.

8. Applying the Paradox of Prevention: Eradicate HIV, Bill Bowtell, Griffith Review 17, Spring 2007

   The failure to bring HIV/AIDS under control in the 1990s is more astounding than the ease with which a handful of countries including Australia suppressed the problem at its inception. Twenty-five years and almost twenty-five million deaths later, it is time to call to account those responsible for the present situation and, for the first time, to organise and fund the entire global HIV/AIDS strategy entirely on sound scientific principles.

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