RI lines up with Australians in war game<\/p>\n
SYDNEY (Reuter): Indonesian troops for the first time have
\njoined a major military exercise on Australian soil, and
\nyesterday were \"fighting\" alongside local soldiers to retake a
\ntiny outback town from a mock invading force.<\/p>\n
About 130 Indonesian paratroopers and 290 Australian troops
\nparachuted into the town of Wyndham early on Thursday, retaking
\nits airstrip before advancing together into the remote
\nsettlement, about 3,000 km (1,900 miles) northwest of Sydney.<\/p>\n
\"They are trying to retake the town from the 'Orangeland'
\n(enemy) forces,\" Australian army spokesman Col. Andrew Reynolds
\nsaid by telephone from the war-games command center at an
\nairforce base in northern Australia.<\/p>\n
\"They are working their way towards clearing the town of
\nOrangelanders as we speak,\" he told Reuters yesterday morning,
\nadding that all troops were armed with blank ammunition.<\/p>\n
About 17,000 troops from eight nations are scheduled to take
\npart in the four-week exercise, which began on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n
Codenamed Kangaroo 95, the exercise is based on Australia's
\nchief military threat -- a low-level invasion from the direction
\nof Asia. But it is also designed to strengthen regional military
\ncooperation as part of the country's effort to engage Asia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was until recent times at the top of the Australian
\nmilitary's list of potential threats.<\/p>\n
\"Exercising with our neighbors is very important,\" said
\nDefense Science and Personnel Minister Gary Punch, referring to
\nthe Indonesian military's participation this year.<\/p>\n
\"It increases the professionalism of both sides of course, but
\nit increases the understanding and the affinity between the
\nparticipant countries and that's very important....\"<\/p>\n
Troops from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea,
\nthe United States, Britain and Canada are taking part in Kangaroo
\n95 across four million square km (1.5 million square miles) of
\nAustralia's sparsely populated northern outback.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's participation comes at a time when ties between
\nCanberra and Jakarta have been tested by a series of events that
\nthreatened to undermine relations painfully built over the years.<\/p>\n
In July Indonesia withdrew its ambassador-designate to
\nAustralia, retired Lt. Gen. Herman Mantiri, due to controversy in
\nAustralia over the appointment.<\/p>\n
Australia had called for Mantiri to apologize for comments he
\nmade in support of the military action in Dili, capital of East
\nTimor, in 1991. Indonesia refused to comply.<\/p>\n
The post of Indonesian ambassador to Canberra remains empty.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's participation in Kangaroo 95 has drawn small
\nprotests in Australia by supporters of East Timorese
\nindependence. In one protest last week, an Indonesian flag was
\nburnt, prompting a diplomatic protest from Jakarta.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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