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