Antinuclear

Indonesia not happy about planned big USA military base in Darwin

”Psychologically, it is not easy to have such a big presence on the doorstep, people in Indonesia still look at Australia with suspicion about hidden motives,” 

Indonesia wants answers on US military plans,  The Age, Daniel Flitton and Jessica Wright, November 12 2011 INDONESIA will seek an urgent explanation from Prime Minister Julia Gillard about plans to station US marines in Darwin, questioning the need for a military build-up on the country’s doorstep.

Ms Gillard is scheduled to meet Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, tomorrow week, following a regional summit in Bali.

But there is confusion about what any new US presence will involve, with the acting Northern Territory Chief Minister, Delia Lawrie, dismissing the report of a permanent US military base in Darwin as ”speculative”…..

Indonesia had been eager for foreign and defence ministers from both countries to meet before the leaders’ talks to gain better understanding of the American plan, but a date could not be settled.

An announcement is expected from Mr Obama next week during a whistlestop visit to Australia.

Australian Defence chiefs held talks with senior Chinese general Ma Xiaotian this week for discussions on military co-operation.

While the US plans for northern Australia have been widely interpreted as a strategy for countering China, Indonesia wants to avoid any misunderstanding the troop expansion will be aimed at the archipelago.

”Psychologically, it is not easy to have such a big presence on the doorstep, people in Indonesia still look at Australia with suspicion about hidden motives,” a source said……

anti-US campaigner and Darwin Residents Against War co-ordinator Justin Tutty is planning protests to coincide with Mr Obama’s visit to the northern capital.

”We are opposed to US stations on Australian soil,” Mr Tutty said. ”We’ve already got a US base at Pine Gap and it was used in missile strikes on Iraq, essentially as a war base.”

Mr Tutty said the protests would take place outside Darwin’s Parliament House and would be peaceful.

Darwin Lord Mayor Graeme Sawyer called for details of Mr Obama’s plans to be issued immediately. ”Something on this scale will entail a number of issues to be addressed and the community needs to be included in these discussions and deliberations,” he said.

Donna Jackson, a member of the Larrakia people – the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the greater Darwin region – called on the federal government to take elders into their confidence.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/indonesia-wants-answers-on-us-military-plans-20111111-1nbxg.html

November 14, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Northern Territory, politics international, weapons and war