Australia clarifies

Australia clarifies

Your article RI concerned over Aussie rocket project (Sept.
25, page 5) requires some clarification.

Asia Pacific Space Centre (APSC), the company that will build
and operate the Christmas Island space launch facility, is a
private Australian company. The spaceport is not a defense
facility in any sense. There is no Russian government interest in
the company and, apart from making a contribution to general
infrastructure costs on the island, the Australian government
also is not involved. This is a commercial operation that will
launch commercial satellites.

The safety regulations governing the operations of the
facility are the toughest in the world. The Australian government
and APSC have kept Indonesian authorities closely informed on all
aspects of the project, including the safety regime.

The Soyuz rocket -- upon which the APSC Aurora rocket is based
-- has a 100 percent success rate for launches over the past five
years and a 98.7 percent success rate over the past ten years.

This is an important high-tech project that has the potential
to bring significant commercial benefit to Australia, Indonesia
and our region.

The article also raises concerns about Australian NGOs
supporting the separatist movement in Papua.

The Australian government's support for Indonesia's
territorial integrity is unambiguous. No NGO is funded by the
Australian government to conduct activities contrary to
Indonesia's sovereignty and any suggestion to the contrary is
baseless.

All NGO's in receipt of Australian government funding must
guarantee that their staff and volunteers comply with a strict
code of conduct precluding them from engaging in political
activities.

Australia through its aid program works very closely with the
Indonesian government for the benefit of the people of Indonesia.
There are no NGO's funded by Australia working in Indonesia
without the express permission and support of the Indonesian
government.

Public Affairs Section, Australian Embassy, Jakarta