Tag: regional cooperation

Indonesia suspends military cooperation with Australia
Indonesia has suspended all military cooperation with Australia, reportedly over offensive materials displayed at an Australian military base where its troops were training.
The offensive “laminated material” shown at a base was insulting towards Indonesia’s five founding principles – Pancasila – Indonesian newspaper Kompas has reported. The Kompas report says a cable dated 29 December, sent by Indonesian military commander General Gatot Nurmantyo, instructed that all military cooperation, including training with the Australian defence force, be suspended.
The Indonesian military spokesman, Major General Wuryanto has confirmed the split, but would not specifically confirm the reason, saying cooperation between the Australian and Indonesian militaries had been suspended for “technical reasons”, effective immediately. “All forms of cooperation have been suspended,” he said.
But Wuryanto suggested the suspension would not be long term, saying cooperation could resume once the “technical matters” were resolved.
“There are technical matters that need to be discussed,” Wuryanto said, including the offensive training material seen at an Australian military base. It was “highly likely” cooperation would resume once those issues were resolved, he said.
Guardian Australian understands an instructor from Indonesia’s special forces group Kopassus felt insulted by material on display at a training base.
It’s believed the Kopassus officer was initially offended by propaganda material about West Papua, a province of Indonesia in which a long-running campaign for independence, and allegations of systemic human rights abuses by the military, are of extreme sensitivity. Senior former military leaders were also insulted as murderers and criminals.
Subsequently, the officer also reportedly saw a laminated piece of paper that ridiculed Indonesia’s founding ideology “pancasila” – which translates as “five principles” – as “panca-gila”. Gila, in Bahasa Indonesia, means crazy.
Kopassus has trained for several years with Australia’s Special Air Service troops at the SAS base at Campbell barracks, Perth. No time limit has been put on the suspension, and it is unclear whether future planned joint training exercises between the two countries will be affected.
Australia’s defence minister, Marise Payne, said the Australian military hoped to restore full cooperation with the Indonesian armed forces as soon as possible.
She confirmed that late last year an Indonesian officer had raised concerns “about some teaching materials and remarks at an army language training facility in Australia”.
“The Australian Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, wrote to his Indonesian counterpart, General Gatot Nurmantyo, giving an undertaking that this matter would be addressed seriously and we would inquire into issues raised.
“The Australian Army has looked into the serious concerns that were raised and the investigation into the incident is being finalised.”
Payne said while some elements of joint training had been suspended, other areas of military cooperation had continued.
“Australia is committed to building a strong defence relationship with Indonesia, including through cooperation in training. We will work with Indonesia to restore full cooperation as soon as possible.”
Indonesia and Australia’s military relationship has improved in recent years, after an at-times troubled history.
The Lombok treaty commits both countries to cooperation in the fields of defence, combating transnational crime, counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing. Australia has sold military hardware to Indonesia and defence and foreign ministers meet regularly.
But relations were shaken in 2013 – and military co-operation suspended – when it was revealed the Australian Signals Directorate attempted to monitor the phone calls of then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials.
News agencies contributed to this report (The Guardian)

January 9, 2017
Indonesia backs down in military rift with Australia over ‘insult’
The Guardian – Indonesia says suspension of military cooperation only applies to language training as representatives from both countries insist relationship is strong
Indonesia has appeared to back down from a decision to suspend all military cooperation with Australia in a row over teaching materials, with a senior minister saying only language training had been put on hold.
The Indonesian military – apparently without consulting the civilian government – had on Wednesday moved to suspend all military cooperation after a special forces commander was offended by material he saw at a Perth military base which insulted Indonesia’s founding ideology and promoted independence for the Indonesian province West Papua.
But following the military’s announcement, leaders of both Australia and Indonesia publicly insisted ties were strong before Indonesian security minister Wiranto announced on Thursday he was giving a “clarification”.
The military “has temporarily suspended cooperation in language training,” Wiranto said, adding it was due to “a small incident that has offended our dignity as a nation”.
But he said Indonesia was not “completely stopping all cooperation”, contradicting the earlier military statement. Indonesian and Australian forces cooperate on a range of issues from border protection to counter-terrorism.
“The suspension is temporary and will be resumed after Australia clearly takes measures to resolve the matter,” he added.
Australia’s defence minister, Marise Payne, had earlier insisted the broader relationship remained healthy and that she expected to be able to resume full cooperation with Indonesia’s TNI.
“The Australian army has looked into the serious concerns that were raised and the investigation into the incident is being finalised,” she said earlier in the day.
“Australia is committed to building a strong defence relationship with Indonesia, including through cooperation in training. We will work with Indonesia to restore full cooperation as soon as possible.”
She said on ABC radio the rift had not threatened Indonesia’s cooperation with Australia’s policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.
Payne conceded her first attempt to contact Indonesia’s defence minister about the suspension of military ties was not made until this week, despite knowing about the dispute in November.
Indonesia’s defence minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, also earlier played down the suspension saying the broader relationship with Australia was “fine” and that Indonesia “should not overreact”.
The suspension was a military, not a political, decision, he said, and the officer who initially raised the concerns had been reprimanded.
“It was all the doings of some lieutenants,” he said. “They have been reprimanded and punished. Don’t let actions of some low-ranking officers affect relations of two countries. That’s not good.”
A spokesman for the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, said: “This was not a decision of the president.”
Ryacudu was quoted as using the Indonesian word “curut” to describe the officers, the literal translation for which is shrew or mouse, but which is used to disparage a subordinate as insignificant.
Indonesia’s special forces group, Kopassus, trains with the Australia’s Special Air Service troops at the SAS base at Campbell barracks in Perth, and Guardian Australia understands an instructor from Kopassus felt insulted by material on display at the training base in November.
It is believed the Kopassus officer was initially offended by propaganda material about West Papua, a province of Indonesia in which a long-running campaign for independence, and allegations of systemic human rights abuses by the military, are of extreme sensitivity. Senior former military leaders were also insulted as murderers and criminals.
The officer also reportedly saw a laminated piece of paper that ridiculed Indonesia’s founding ideology “pancasila” – which translates as “five principles” – as “panca-gila”. Gila, in Bahasa Indonesia, means crazy.
But broader issues within the Australia-Indonesia relationship have been brought into the open by the spat, with Australia also been forced to deny it has tried to recruit Indonesian military personnel as spies, despite claims by Indonesia’s military chief, general Gatot Nurmantyo. .

In a speech in November and revealed by the ABC this week, Nurmantyo claimed Australia had sought to recruit Indonesia’s best and brightest as sources.
“Every time there is a training program – like recently – the best five or 10 students would be sent to Australia,” he said, according to a translation of his

“That happened before I was chief so I let that happen. Once I became chief commander of the national forces, it did not happen again … They will certainly be recruited, they will certainly be recruited.”
Again, the contentious issue of West Papuan independence was raised as a major concern.
Payne denied Australia has tried to influence or recruit Indonesian officers for intelligence activities or spying: “That is not the case and it is something which we would not countenance, of course.”
She told ABC radio she had communicated with Ryacudu on number of matters in December and the issue was not raised by him.
The Australian government is understood to have been surprised by the timing of the announcement of the military suspension, as it believed the issue was being managed and its investigation coming to a conclusion.
Indonesia and Australia’s military relationship has improved in recent years, after an at-times troubled history.
The Lombok treaty commits both countries to cooperating in defence, combating transnational crime, counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing. Australia has sold military hardware to Indonesia and defence and foreign ministers meet regularly.
But relations were shaken in 2013 – and military cooperation suspended – when it was revealed the Australian Signals Directorate attempted to monitor the phone calls of the then president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials.
January 9, 2017
West Papua wants to interact more with MSG countries
SolomonStarNews.com, Published: 13 July 2016
West Papua says it wants more interaction with members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.
The intention was relayed yesterday to the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare in Honiara by the visiting General Secretary of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua, Octovinius Mote.
Mr Mote told Prime Minister Sogavare that West Papua would like to see more contacts in sports, especially in soccer with their Melanesian brothers in PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia.
He said West Papua would be interested in joining the Melanesian Cup soccer competition.
Mr Mote said as a start, West Papua would also like to send young West Papuans to study at the Solomon Islands National University in Honiara and in educational institutions in Vanuatu.
He added at a later date, students from West Papua could also be sent to study in PNG and Fiji.
Mr Mote is leading a three-member delegation of the ULMOWP to observe the Pacific Islands Development Forum Summit which begins in Honiara tomorrow (July 12).
By George Atkin,
OPMC Press Secretariat
July 13, 2016
PM emphasises PIDF summit theme
solomonstarnews.com, Published: 13 July 2016
PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare said, the theme of the 4th Leaders’ Summit do recognises the fact that the health, wealth, history, culture and identity of the peoples of the Pacific Islands are vast and diverse.
Speaking at the official opening of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) Leaders’ Summit, at the Lawson Tama stadium on Tuesday, Mr Sogavare said the theme underpins the role oceans play to the biological diversity of the people within the Pacific realm.
The theme of the current Leaders’ Summit is ‘Stewardship for Healthy Oceans & Nations’.
“It reinforces hat fact that the geographical vastness of our nations is immeasurable.
“We cannot deny the fact that we are oceans people; we live by the ocean and we are big ocean states,” he said.
He added, we as Pacific Islanders can easily correlate the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals to the health and welfare of the ocean that we share among us.
“Oceans cover approximately 70.8% or 361 million square kilometres of earth’s surface with a volume of about 1,370 million cubic kilometres. The oceans contain 97% of our planet’s available water.
“In our Pacific region, we can say that careful management of our ocean is key to our sustainable future”.
The Prime Minister said, the theme of stewardship for Healthy Oceans and Healthy Nations is also meant to stimulate the intellectual thinking capacities of the Pacific Island leaders who are part of the current PIDF summit, in Honiara.
“Let us have this intellectual stimulation to save the health of our ocean and safeguard the identity of our nations.
“That said, on behalf of every Solomon Islanders, I applaud your stewardship for a healthy ocean and healthy nations”.
By RONALD TOITO’ONA
July 13, 2016
West Papua ULMWP calls for more Melanesian interaction
5:21 pm on 12 July 2016, RNZ
The West Papua National Committee wants a national action to be held over the next two days in West Papua (July 13th and July 14th) to mark its meeting with the MSG.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders are meeting in Honiara, where they are considering the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s application for full membership.
The Committee says activities in Papua will include peaceful demonstrations, prayers and feasting to show support for the Movement’s application.
Meanwhile West Papua says it wants more interaction with the MSG – Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.
The Movement’s general secretary Octo Mote told the Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare West Papua would like to see more contacts in sports, especially football.
He says they would also like to send young West Papuans to study at the Solomon Islands National University in Honiara and at educational institutions in Vanuatu, and later possibly to universities in PNG and Fiji.
July 12, 2016

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