Fed: Indonesia backs out as PSI exercise observer

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2006
Fed: Indonesia backs out as PSI exercise observer

CANBERRA, April 4 AAP - Indonesia has rejected an Australian invitation to send an
observer to a military exercise to be held around Darwin this week, in another sign of
deteriorating relations.

The Indonesian government told the Australian government last week it would not be
sending an official to watch the latest Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise
which aims to test procedures for intercepting shipments of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD) materials, ABC radio reported today.

The decision is seen as the latest sign of frost from the Indonesian government, upset
at Australia's granting of protection visas to a group of West Papuan asylum seekers.

Ron Huisken, an expert on international relations with the Strategic and Defence Studies
Centre in Canberra, said the timing of the rejection was no coincidence.

"Probably a calculation was made in Jakarta that even observing this exercise might
dilute the opposition that we are are expressing to this Australian position," he told
ABC radio.

"That observer status, my understanding is, has become very popular as as sort of halfway
house where you can show political interest in the initiative but also maintain political
distance from it."

Hugh White, a former senior defence official and visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute
for International Policy, agreed.

"It is significant as yet another sign by Indonesia of the way in which they see our
decision on Papua and the way in which that issue has unfolded over the last couple of
weeks impact on a broader bilateral relationship," he told ABC radio.

US president George Bush launched PSI in 2003 in response to the worrying spread of
WMD materials and capabilities and it has since gained worldwide backing of more than
60 nations.

Australia hosted the first ever PSI exercise back in September 2003 which involved
intercepting a ship carrying suspected WMD materials in the Coral Sea off Queensland.

This week's PSI exercise, called Protector 06, involves Australia, the US, Singapore,
Japan, Britain and New Zealand with 20 another countries sending observers.

It involves interception of an aircraft carrying WMD materials and forcing it to land at Darwin.

AAP mb/lma/jlw

KEYWORD: PROTECTOR

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