India-Australia News and Discussion

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 30 Mar 2011 09:56

Fear strikes as temple showered in bullets

The temple's priest, Jatinkumar Bhatt, who lives on the site, said he had been harassed by youths in the past but he was scared by the shooting. ''I have a family as well, three kids and my wife,'' he said. ''Throwing eggs and bottles is an ongoing process but this bullet really put us in a panic.''

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 31 Mar 2011 13:43

This thing is beginning to look like more than mere random violence, and more than a case of Australian bigots trying to target Indians. I find there to be a fundamental inconsistency with the racism argument...

If it is the whites, why don't they target the other minority communities with a comparable energy and focus. If it is Lebanese or East European whatever else who comprise part of the "new Australian" population base, why don't they target the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis and Bangladeshis with comparable vitriol.

I sense something larger is afoot. These may well be the opening shots of the larger and longer-term battle for control of the Australian landmass - and the No. 1 perceived threat is targeted, and not necessarily by the guiding hand of the local whites of European extraction who consider Australia their birthright. The goal, above all, may simply be to push the Indians out to clear the playing field for the Chinese over the longer term. It looks to me like a carefully calibrated and considered covert operation.

The West European origin whites may simply be the patsy here.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 31 Mar 2011 14:16

Even in South Pacific, after the anti Indian riots in Fiji, it was the Chinese moved in and bought Indian business cheap.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 31 Mar 2011 17:16

JE Menon wrote:
I sense something larger is afoot. These may well be the opening shots of the larger and longer-term battle for control of the Australian landmass - and the No. 1 perceived threat is targeted, and not necessarily by the guiding hand of the local whites of European extraction who consider Australia their birthright. The goal, above all, may simply be to push the Indians out to clear the playing field for the Chinese over the longer term.

IMO the objective is to chase away the intellectual community from taking root so that immigration patterns could be changed to reflect higher number of refugees entering Oz on humanitarian grounds. These refugees provide cheap daily wage labour, while the power equation remains unchanged and concentrated in the hands of Anglo-Saxons.

This is also the reason why infrastructure development outside of 20 km radius (except for Melbourne) have not been taken up beyond the 'feasibility study' stage. Moreover, if there is a Chinese hand in all of this, there would be active calls for an Australian republic emanating from various quarters. I do not think Chinese will take over anything with the Queendom watching over them. Currently, there is not a single Chinese establishment in Oz which can rival the power of the Anglo-Saxons, none whatsoever.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 31 Mar 2011 19:57

This image is an assembly of the various components which goes into creating a social dominance model, specifically related to group dominance (in this case, the incumbent power centre resting with West European whites/Anglo Saxons). The arrows represent causal influences established through actions (anything ranging from setting up mining businesses to sheep farming to politics and construction lobbying). The interlocking nibs are processes or actions known to co-occur or occur concurrently. The model implies that group inequality does
not exist merely because of cognitive biases, or because it is part of culture, or because of certain prejudiced personalities, or because of discrimination, but because all of these work together.

Rather than being a causal chain with a few links and a particular root cause, this model is a dynamic one in which each process influences every other process either directly or indirectly. The by-products of such a dynamism manifest themselves in the form of in-built redundancy and an over-determinacy, which makes it impossible to break the system by interrupting one process. The processes feedback on themselves and builds resiliency because each process helps to perpetuate the others.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 03 Apr 2011 01:49

How I lost faith in multiculturism.

Some quotes:

But in the nearly 15 years we lived there the suburb changed, and much for the worse.

Three dynamics interacted in a noxious fashion: the growth of a macho, misogynist culture among young men that often found expression in extremely violent crime; a pervasive atmosphere of anti-social behaviour in the streets; and the simultaneous growth of Islamist extremism and jihadi culture.

THE three great settler immigrant societies of Australia, the US and Canada have not seen an anti-Muslim backlash on anything like that of Europe's. Australia, the US and Canada are more successful immigrant societies than those of Europe in the modern era, but the usual self-congratulatory explanation we offer for this is simply that our settlement practices are superior to that of Europe.

In the three countries identity can be credal. Recite the nation's creed, believe the creed, and you are an insider. It's a powerful mechanism because it focuses on values, not ethnicity.

You sign up to the US constitution and by golly you're an American.

You take out Australian citizenship and you're Australian. Immigrants are more welcome and make a better contribution than is the case in Europe.

There is some truth in all this, and in any event it's a mostly benign myth, but it doesn't really stand up to scrutiny as a serious intellectual explanation.

Certainly the presence or absence of multiculturalism as a state policy seems to have no effect. Canada practices multiculturalism. Australia did for a while but then stopped and is now, apparently, half-heartedly starting again, according to a recent speech by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.

The US, on the other hand, does not practice multiculturalism, yet is the biggest and most successful immigrant society in history -- more than 310 million people live there from every corner of the globe. It has a black President, Asian state governors (including two Punjabis) and a vastly more ethnically diverse cabinet and corporate leadership than Australia.

There is a big problem of illegal immigration in the US, but that is overwhelmingly from Latin America. The Hispanic desire to be part of America at a civic level is evident in the huge recruitment rates of Hispanics in the US military. If you're willing to die for your new country that is surely a convincing sign of commitment.

Here in Australia Bowen, in his February 16 speech, titled "The genius of Australian multiculturalism", posited the comforting notion that it is the superiority of our own multiculturalism policies that have made so big a difference between us and the tensions of Europe.

There is talk of some inherent superiority here, the desire to be seen as More European than the Europeans themselves.

Community relations is a more inclusive term than ethnic. It includes everybody, not just migrants.

Similarly the immigration department acquired the word citizenship in its title and lost the word multiculturalism. This was a natural and sensible evolution and one that reflected the maturing, the normalisation, of a welcoming diversity within Australia.

Now Bowen proudly proclaims "I am not afraid to use the word multiculturalism" and has restored Multicultural Affairs to the title of his Immigration parliamentary secretary, though not to that of his department.

Could it be that Bowen hopes once more to inflict division on his political opponents? Is Labor is playing politics with the rhetoric of settlement policies?

For the word has no agreed meaning. Bowen can't be under the misapprehension that he is communicating something clear by the resurrection of this hotly contested, wildly elastic and downright ugly jargon word, multiculturalism. It seems instead to fulfil George Orwell's observation that "political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind".

Multiculturalism has not been used much in Australia in the past decade. Its primary meaning now comes from Europe, and to a lesser extent American university debates. If it means something different in Australia there will need to be a massive effort to convince people of its special, non-standard meaning. What is the purpose of such an effort?

But Bowen's speech alone has not turned me into an opponent of multiculturalism. While I remain a proponent of a big, non-discriminatory immigration program and celebrate and love Australian diversity, it is the real world that has changed my views.

In particular it is four real-world experiences: watching the debate unfold about the illegal immigrants who come to Australia by boat; a month in Europe researching and writing about immigration issues; 30 years reporting on political Islam in Southeast Asia and the Middle East; and, above all, living for nearly 15 years next door to Lakemba in Sydney's southwest, the most Muslim suburb in Australia.

In his speech Bowen sets up a neat dichotomy between a good Australian multiculturalism and a bad European multiculturalism.

{the same convoluted dichotomy which classifies Good and Bad Taliban???}

Bowen is right to point out that Australian official policy, whether at any given moment describing itself as multiculturalism or not, has always stressed English as the national language and the need for immigrants to commit to democracy and the rule of law.

But at the declaratory level, European multiculturalism has also stressed the national language and a commitment to democracy.

Bowen accuses Europe of not welcoming immigrants in the way Australia has.

Certainly some European nations have not been generous in making citizenship easily available to immigrants in the way Australia has. Citizenship is the great integrating instrument of government policy in Australia, the US and in most immigrant societies.

So this must, logically, lead to one extremely inconvenient, politically incorrect and desperately fraught question. Could it be that the main difference between Europe, with its seething immigration problems, and the US, Canada and Australia, with their success, is not actually a difference based on some footling interpretation of multiculturalism?

There is one other variable that is consistent with the results. The US, Canada and Australia have far smaller Muslim migrant communities as a percentage of their total populations than do most of the troubled nations of Europe. Could this be the explanation? {this is the actual thrust of the article, hidden behind all the fancy jargon}

Several trends in Australian society give pause to wonder whether we, all unintentionally and all fast asleep, may be heading away from the US-Canada-Australia success story and towards a European future. That would be a very bad outcome for Australia.

Discussing these issues is very difficult. It goes without saying that most Muslims in Australia are perfectly fine, law-abiding citizens. The difficulty with discussing Muslim immigration problems is that you don't want to make people feel uncomfortable because of their religion.

IMO, there is a strong pro-Pauline Hanson thrust coming up in NSW, slowly but surely picking up momentum.

When I was a kid in Lewisham in the 1950s and 60s it was already racially diverse, surely as racially diverse as any suburb in Australia at the time. It was a bit of a religious ghetto: a big Catholic church with four priests, a Catholic hospital, two Christian Brothers high schools, a convent, a Catholic infants' school.

But because the church was racially universal, so was the suburb. For a time at school we were placed alphabetically: Saad, Scarfone, Sheridan, Taurian -- Lebanese, Italian, Irish, Italian.

In primary school I had one close Aboriginal friend, whom I now suspect may have been part of the Stolen Generations, and very close friends from Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Britain and Ireland. In primary school I didn't seek out diversity, it was just naturally all around me.

This person should come to India to see what diversity really is. This article is a product of a highly vulnerable psyche (which is typical to most Aussies), it is laced with exaggeration (he calls his adjoining suburb as a 'war zone') and the view presented is not balanced.

Read it all only.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 03 Apr 2011 06:55

Interesting article by the reliable Greg Sheridan on how certain immigrants are behaving in Oz

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6031793805

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 03 Apr 2011 07:37

Gunshots prompt prayers for peace

IT BEGAN with minor acts of vandalism, including egg throwing and smashed windows, but instead of remaining periodic footnotes in the night log at Auburn police station, the incidents have grown so violent - and the issue so culturally sensitive - that even authorities are reluctant to speak about them publicly

...

The Sun-Herald is aware the ongoing feud has caused disquiet among some of the most senior police in western Sydney. In a rare move, details of the shooting were deliberately held back from the NSW police media unit through concern that publicity might inflame hostilities.
...

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 04 Apr 2011 11:30

QR National to shed workforce. Around 660 staff have already accepted voluntary redundancy payments, the company hopes to re-structure its Queensland freight operations.

Implications are that agricultural produce transport will be significantly down-graded in favour of coal and mineral haulage towards the port towns. This is inspite of the fact that the carrier load on most double line corridors is nowhere near European or American standards.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 17 Apr 2011 05:54

Defence may be liable on sexual assaults in Australian military: Stephen Smith

DEFENCE Minister Stephen Smith has admitted the government may be legally liable for the decades of sexual assaults inside the defence force.

...

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 25 Apr 2011 06:01

Immigration department advises doctor to divorce his terminally ill wife if he intends to migrate to Oz:Link.
The immigration officials come through as a bunch of utterly ungrateful folks!

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 25 Apr 2011 06:07

Film director of Aboriginal descent to make a documentary on the history of Rottnest Island: Link.

People such as these should be given credit as they are coming to realize their roots and forgotten (erased by Anglo-Saxons) history, inspite of facing stiff opposition from all and sundry in society.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 27 Apr 2011 13:22

A student pilot bashed in Oz again. Watch video on Channel 7 news.

A trainee pilot has been savagely bashed by a gang in Melbourne's CBD in broad daylight.

International student Rajat Tyagi said he is now too scared to stay in Melbourne because it is no longer safe.

The student pilot from New Delhi was confronted as he left his apartment in Flinders Street on Sunday morning by five men he describes as African.

They surrounded him and bashed him unconscious using knuckledusters.

He told 7NEWS: "I want to go home as soon as possible because we are not safe here."

"They hit me twice in the mouth, and my whole lips were hanging down. I just lost my tooth - i don't know where my tooth is, maybe in my stomach, maybe on the floor - I couldn't find it."

And he said he is still in severe pain.

"I cant eat anything, I cant drink anything and my room mates are feeding me milk just to survive so I can live," he explained.

Rajat hopes the incident was captured on CCTV.

He said he has heard no more from police since they arrived half-an-hour after the assault, and told him he was one of several similar assaults that night.

Rajat is now unable to sit his flying exams after Easter because of the bashing. He said the year-and-a-half in Australia has been wasted. He now intends to return home to see his family and never return.

"I just came here for a good life," he said. "But i'm getting this."

link

Police can be later seen booking a person for begging near his apartment.

Comment from a news reader

Tom Barton of Melbourne Posted at 6:03 AM Today
Mr Tiyagi, please understand that most Australians are horrified by what has happened to you. Also remember that, by your description, it is most likely that you were attacked by either Somalian or Sudanese newcomers to Australia. If you read the newspapers you will know that some of these people have caused an awful lot of violence in the last week or so. These people are NOT representative of Australia or Australians and, if the truth be told, they represent a group of people who should not have been granted entry to this country, not because of their race, but because of their historical predisposition to violence, given that they hail from failed states. Stay, Mr. Tiyagi...finish your pilot exams at a later time...I'm sure your flight school will understand and give you some slack in this regard. Don't judge Australia by the actions of these wantonly violent thugs!

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 27 Apr 2011 16:46

Like I said before, the issue of Indians being selectively attacked - judging by the incidents - suggests something slightly more sinister.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 01 May 2011 18:23

This is a slightly dated article but still relevant, Australia needs foreign investment to thrive.

Another one which shows the mood with respect to market economy and FTA's: Link.

There is a lot of fear translating into protectionist talk amongst the old-guard, historically (atleast since 20th century) the society seems to be living in a paradox, first with immigration policy, redefinitions of white in White Australia Policy and now with trade and economic policies.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 May 2011 21:37

JE Menon wrote:Like I said before, the issue of Indians being selectively attacked - judging by the incidents - suggests something slightly more sinister.

This is true.
Some El Salvador person I know mentioned this to me. I asked him what did he understand and why was it of importance to this person. The person said that she is an immigrant and they need to watch this kind of things.
Global change has been rapid in the last 10 years and it will take some time to adjust.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 03 May 2011 08:50

Acharya ji, could you please elaborate with some specific examples? Is it somehow related to gamification and checkenification of the population as you have mentioned in another thread?

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 05 May 2011 18:00

Pauline Hanson accuses Electoral Commission of ignoring claims of sabotage.

Study reveals that refugees remain unemployed. Apparently the study has got inputs from independent commission asking UN intervention into the detention centre issues.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 06 May 2011 17:55

Turmoil in Victoria police as top cop does not see eye-to-eye with his deputy.

The police union slammed what it said was an unprecedented move by a chief commissioner.

"I think Simon Overland is the chief commissioner in name only from this day on," Police Association secretary Greg Davies said.

"His position now is one which puts him in charge of a police force in crisis," Senior Sergeant Davies said.

"To demean a policing professional of Sir Ken Jones' seniority and quality is just beyond comprehension, and the rest of the police force will never forgive him for it."

Labelling the move a deplorable and despicable act, Sen Sgt Davies said he had never known of any police chief commissioner, anywhere in the world, dealing with a deputy in this fashion.

The deputy's relationship with Mr Overland has been strained, reportedly because Sir Ken objected to the release of incomplete crime data just weeks out from last November's state election.

The decision to release the statistics early was a factor in Sir Ken's decision to resign, media reports have said.

Incomplete crime data, which includes incidents against people of Indian origin. There seems to be a ethics and morality dispute in the top echelons of Victoria Police, possibly related to corruption or deliberate suppression of data with regard to these crimes.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 09 May 2011 17:24

Australian fashion house, Lisa Blue Swimwear depicts image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimsuits, issues an apology: Link.

Angst and outrage in the Hindu community as a result.

Edit: NSFW image.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 12 May 2011 22:40

India, Australia launch FTA talks; aim at $40 billion bilateral trade by 2015
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Econom ... epage=true

There is already a demand within Australia that the FTA negotiations should also include talks for sale of uranium to India, something which the Australian Government has been blocking, demanding that India should first become a signatory to the NPT. India is Australia's third-largest export market. Australia is India's 14th-largest market.
...
India is also negotiating a PTA with New Zealand and is in the process of initiating talks with half a dozen other nations. We want a wider economic engagement and give greater opportunity to our entrepreneurs,’’ Mr. Sharma said here.

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Econom ... 009259.ece

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 12 May 2011 22:47

I propose that this dhaaga be renamed as "India-South Pacific News and Discussion." There is no point seeing Oz separately and not including NZ or Fiji and other chota mota nations (no pun intended) in the So Pacific in the discussion. This will also make us streamline discussion in a regional context along the lines that any MEA should ideally think. More so, the foreign/economic/political policies of NZ align with Oz many a time, esp those concerned with Indian matters. Fiji may be a special case given the large Indian diaspora, but as long as the "indigenous" Fijians run the show, the policies of Fiji are pretty much similar to that of Oz and NZ esp those concerning India, just that Indians get a visa on arrival in Fiji unlike Oz or NZ.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 12 May 2011 22:57

I will post NZ news also in this dhaaga from now on:
New Zealand accords top priority to India
http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2009265.ece

Stating that the PTA negotiations were progressing well, Mr. Groser said his Government will make necessary offers to India in services (under the proposed FTA), throwing open the decks for Indian professionals to get more visas into New Zealand. “We want quality people to join hands with the people and government of New Zealand, and we do not mind giving access to this category. You cannot establish a business relationship without facilitation of movement of persons,’’ he added. India and New Zealand are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and have already completed five rounds of talks. The negotiations started in 2010. The CECA would cover trade in goods, services and investment. According to official data, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $755 million in 2009-10. However, he said New Zealand was looking at the dairy sector of India for enhanced cooperation and engagement. “We are not going to go into India in a big way, but we are going to contribute in a qualitative manner. We certainly are looking at exports of dairy products to India as that country needs such products in view of the growing domestic demand,’’ he said.

Good job by the babus to make NZ see sense that services is a business, unlike the moral lecturing we hear from the Euros on the CECA bargaining.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 12 May 2011 23:02

Klaus wrote:Acharya ji, could you please elaborate with some specific examples? Is it somehow related to gamification and checkenification of the population as you have mentioned in another thread?

Do not connect with any other posts.
What I found to my surprise that people from other nations who are not connected with India or to Australia have followed this news about Indians getting beaten up in Australia. I am still figuring this out.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 16 May 2011 23:32

Klaus, the question of statistics has always been very controversial in the force.I recall a certain Det.Sr.Sergeant who was deputy incharge of the Asian squad(disbanded) that info collection was limited due to archaic legislation & more so due to national policy of DIAC to assimilate people rather than single out or else it would totally shatter the bubble they created about multiculturalism. Also it would create tension in the force as certain northern suburbs were running programs to recruit 1st generation migrants for community policing.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 19 May 2011 23:35

^^^ As in everything related to the South Pacific, this should also have had a precedent. So your point about archaic legislation just ties in neatly with the fact that it has been kept archaic on purpose to allow White Australia policy to continue unofficially, so that an official excuse of legislation not being updated since early nineties can be given by various departments. I had an initial perception of law enforcement as being unbiased as one of my colleagues was offered a PhD in the field of surveillance technologies by the Australian Federal Police, so your comment on community policing is quite right.

The objective seems to be one of keeping people on refugee and humanitarian visas dependent instead of polarising them by allowing creation of another group of elite. Talk of multi-culturism etc is just noise to fill the air waves.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 21 May 2011 02:57

Japan and Aus have signed a major intel agreement to contain PRC. PRC has been acting quite aggressively and undergoing some expansionism/assertivist behaviour.

The 2 have agree to "pool" their intelligence. Aus has agreed to share some SIGINT (probably the ECHELON) and other PRC related stuff. Apparently the worry is that once Rudd who is pro PRC comes in, this deal may end. India should get into this deal, we can get immense intel.

Jap SF will receive training from the AUs SAS. There was more to this deal, but its slipped out of my head.

India and Aus will get together and form a strategic partnership at some point I think. Maybe FTA is a good starter.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 21 May 2011 03:14

ShyamD, to overcome the "Malacca" handicap, it is essential for AUS to be in PRC's corner.

If your info is accurate and fructifies into a deeper relationship, then PRC is in deep trouble for sure.....

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 21 May 2011 20:09

^^ PRC are in deep trouble. They don't need another 1979 for them. All India needs to do is prepare for 2 front war, sort out the infrastructure. Deploy A-5, AAD/PAD, mountain warfare divisions. Then sign agreements with Central asian countries, Dharmic alliance countries, Aus, Jap, SK. PRC will be left shaking in its boots. This is what you call check mate. Watch our moves. We are getting ready. People mistake our moves or lack of aggression/jingoism as a sign of weakness. Yindu's are smart. They'll pull out the joker in the pack at some point. Wait and watch.

Sidhant · Post by **Sidhant** » 21 May 2011 21:20

^^Shyamd sir, the above gives immense pleasure to this Jingo's heart. I just hope that India keeps the focus on creating the capabilities and checkmate the dragon soon.
But when I think realistically, A-Vs and AAD/PADs will be useful only when we have them in numbers which we are quite a few years away. The pace with which dragon is moving and sharpening its taller than mountain Dagger aka Pakistan, I just hope that they don't checkmate us sooner by thrusting a 2 front war and few nooks (from western border) down our throats.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 22 May 2011 16:21

Of course. We are still a few years away, but the work needs to start now. Chi-Pak signing a mutual defence treaty is a big wake up call. Our strategists know what to do - in the interim we are slightly weak - our strategists are aware of this and we will do what is necessary to fill the gap.

I imagine when we look at things in a years time, things may be totally different wrt PRC.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 22 May 2011 19:23

X-Posting from Managing Chinese Thread Thread

Published on Aug 08, 2011
By Peter Coates
China could well be a problem for Australia: Online Opinion

Use of soft power in East Timor largely for China’s energy security and strategic reach may have long term implications for Australia. In terms of China’s energy security goal its state-dominated companies are involved in oil and gas exploration in East Timor. China was also responsible for compiling a geological survey of that country.

China may be strengthening military links with East Timor with the eventual aim of firm military ties in the distant future. The prospect of a Chinese naval base or air base in East Timor may sound bizarre at present but both countries have proven surprising and unorthodox. Chinese bases on East Timor would throw Australia’s best laid strategic expectations way out of kilter.

On April 12, 2008 East Timor signed a $28 million deal with China to buy two advanced patrol boats. The contract for the patrol boats provides for 30 East Timorese defence force personnel to be trained in China. The patrol boats, however, may come with strings attached. They may prove too expensive for East Timor to operate without continuing Chinese financial support and in any case East Timor may require Chinese technicians to maintain the boats. The offer of weapons is a potent way to massage East Timor’s desire for prestige and military independence.

Australia may have been reluctant to supply patrol boats because it may see East Timor’s Defence Force as a politically disruptive element. Substantial weapons aid might worsen this situation. East Timor’s army already has a record of mutiny and attempted coup. Its politicisation is in a sense understandable given its long guerilla struggle against the Indonesians. Australia, unlike China, lives close to East Timor and so puts a premium on stable government.

China has deepened East Timor’s sense of gratitude by constructing that country’s Foreign Ministry building, Presidential Palace and future Defense Force headquarters. To have a foreign power build such key national security buildings is unusual. It is therefore important that these buildings are checked or “swept” for hidden bugs as China may also be expecting some electronic intelligence for its generosity.

Published on May 10, 2011
By Philip Dorling
Timor rejected Chinese spy offer: Sydney Morning Herald

CHINA recently tried to establish a spy base in East Timor, according to leaked US diplomatic cables.

The Chinese proposal to build and operate a surveillance radar facility on East Timor's north coast was made in December 2007, but was viewed with suspicion by senior East Timorese officials who consulted with the US and Australia before rejecting the project.

The Chinese initiative, described as ''a strategic threat'', is revealed for the first time in US embassy cables leaked to WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to The Age.

While Chinese diplomats insisted to their American counterparts that East Timor was ''strategically unimportant'' to Beijing, the US embassy in Dili reported to Washington in February 2008 that Deputy Prime Minister Jose Guterres had called in then US ambassador Hans Klemm to advise that Chinese defence firms had approached East Timor's government with an offer to establish a radar array to monitor shipping in the strategic Wetar Strait.

Although anxious to secure assistance to crack down on illegal fishing in East Timorese waters, Mr Guterres was suspicious of the Chinese offer to build and operate the radar facility free of charge.

''The only catch was the facilities were manned by Chinese technicians,'' Mr Guterres told the US embassy. He was concerned ''the radars could be used for purposes other than those touted by the Chinese. They could instead be used to extend China's radar-based intelligence perimeter deep into South East Asia.''

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 23 May 2011 04:43

then PRC is in deep trouble for sure

Frankly, talk of Malacca being a handicap is only one half of the story. The Chinese have a decent amount of control over the Lombok straits and we do not know much about specific resource control and sharing arrangements between PRC and Aus in PNG.

I suspect the Indonesians have been cooperating with the Chinese (the East Timor listening post points in this direction), while pushing East Timor into the hands of Aus. I remember reading that the ECHELON systems do not fare as well against newer Asian systems (report was worded carefully to avoid mention of China, while specifically targeting Indonesia).

Without control over Lombok straits, the South China sea will continue to give under greater Chinese control, China has a clear north-south shipping route all the way to resource rich North-Western Australia.

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 26 May 2011 05:11

UN rights chief slams 'racist' Australia
http://www.smh.com.au/world/un-rights-c ... z1NPenLw6O

The United Nations's top human rights watchdog has attacked Australia's tough refugee policies and the treatment of outback Aborigines, saying there was a strong undercurrent of racism in the country.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 26 May 2011 08:14

Funding goes to nuclear weapons

AUSTRALIA'S $74 billion Future Fund invests in companies that manufacture nuclear weapons components, including one involved in building nuclear-armed submarines for India.

Records obtained through freedom-of-information laws show the fund has $135.4 million invested in 15 companies involved in the design, production and maintenance of nuclear weapons for the US, Britain, France and India.

The fund has $3.8 million invested in Larsen & Toubro, which is involved in designing and building a fleet of nuclear-armed submarines for India. It has also been involved in testing a launch system for India's nuclear missiles.

Any investment in companies that help India build nuclear weapons is especially controversial because that country is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

A spokesman for the fund told the Herald that the investments at issue do not contravene the nuclear non-proliferation treaty because signatories to the treaty are permitted to arm themselves with nuclear weapons.

''We've got no plans to divest those holdings. Our view is that conventions dealing with nuclear weapons are focused on non-proliferation, and we're not aware of any companies involved in acts that are prohibited by the non-proliferation frameworks,'' he said.

''The board's view is that conventions dealing with landmines and cluster munitions are focused on the universal prohibition of certain weapons. In contrast the emphasis in regard to nuclear weapons under the non-proliferation treaty framework and associated frameworks, such as the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, is on non-proliferation.''

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 31 May 2011 04:10

India beats Australia, and it's not just cricket

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-a ... 1fctx.html

Australia prides itself on being an advanced, competitive economy. But in some countries with a reputation for being poor, inefficient and corrupt, consumers get a far better deal.

BSR Murthy · Post by **BSR Murthy** » 31 May 2011 04:47

^^^^
Interestingly the many negative comments on this article and India were by the Indians!

UBanerjee · Post by **UBanerjee** » 31 May 2011 04:54

More loyal than the emperor phenomenon.

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 31 May 2011 06:58

BSR Murthy wrote:^^^^
Interestingly the many negative comments on this article and India were by the Indians!

I suspect some are Pakis using Indian names.

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 31 May 2011 07:13

'More than 2400 faults' in data on $8bn destroyers
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6065224377

Australian efficiency!