ASEAN troops in RI's tsunami-hit Aceh to remain: Malaysia<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
ASEAN troops carrying out relief work in Indonesia's tsunami-
\nbattered Aceh province will be allowed to remain indefinitely,
\nMalaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"The representative of (Indonesia's military chief) Gen.
\nSutarto told me that there is no deadline as such given to our
\nsoldiers with respect to our involvement in Aceh and that they
\ncan continue to be there until further notice,\" Najib told a news
\nconference.<\/p>\n
He was speaking after meeting defense chiefs from fellow
\nmembers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
\nwhich comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\"The 26 March deadline is only for their own planning
\npurposes, but the important thing is that there is no such
\nimposition as to a specific timetable for our withdrawal from
\nAceh,\" Najib said, adding this would also apply to troops from
\nother ASEAN countries.<\/p>\n
Malaysian troops would continue humanitarian aid in Aceh \"for
\nas long as necessary and for as long as our presence is welcomed
\nby them,\" Najib said.<\/p>\n
More than 100 Malaysian military personnel are expected to
\ndepart for Aceh soon to help set up a field hospital, bringing
\nthe total number of Malaysian military and police officers there
\nto more than 400, Najib said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia would also set up a relief center in Aceh that would
\nbe able to accommodate 10,000 tsunami victims, he said.<\/p>\n
The armed forces of Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and
\nthe United States all rushed units to Aceh in the wake of the
\nDecember 26 tsunami disaster which killed more than 110,000
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
Vice President Yusuf Kalla said last week that foreign troops
\nshould leave Aceh within three months -- \"in fact the sooner the
\nbetter.\"<\/p>\n
But the Indonesian government announced on Sunday that foreign
\nforces including the U.S. Navy can continue relief operations
\nthere beyond a March 26 deadline.<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the earlier demand
\nby Kalla was \"not a deadline for involvement of foreign military
\npersonnel\".<\/p>\n
\"It is a benchmark for the Indonesian government to improve
\nand accelerate its relief efforts so that by March 26th the large
\npart of the burden of the relief efforts will be carried by the
\nIndonesian government and authorities on the ground,\" Sudarsono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Foreign military assistance, operations providing relief and
\nrehabilitation will be allowed to continue, albeit on a reduced
\nscale,\" he said after talks with U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary
\nPaul Wolfowitz and the commander for U.S. forces in the Pacific,
\nAdmiral Thomas Fargo.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN defense chiefs are in Kuala Lumpur for a two-day
\nannual informal meeting.<\/p>\n
The defense chiefs have agreed to \"collaborate more closely
\ntogether using a hotline to communicate with one another in times
\nof really major disasters,\" Najib said.<\/p>\n
Najib is due to meet Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill
\nlater on Monday as Hill returns from a visit to Aceh.<\/p>\n
An Australian embassy spokesman said Hill would be visiting a
\nlogistics hub at a military air base at Butterworth in Malaysia's
\nnorthern Penang state. It was set up by the Australian military
\nto better manage the flow of aid into Aceh.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-troops-in-ris-tsunami-hit-aceh-to-remain-malaysia-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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