TWO navy warships have been deployed to waters off northern Australia amid continuing tensions in East Timor.But Timor is adamant it has no need for military assistance, despite the death of a police officer during one of two violent protests that have rocked the country in the past fortnight.
In the latest flare-up, about 100 people were arrested after a stone-throwing mob attacked a government office in a town southwest of Dili, killing the officer.
The previous week, violence erupted during a protest by soldiers sacked for desertion, leaving at least five people dead.
Australia said last week it would consider sending troops, if asked. Prime Minister John Howard today said the navy's amphibious transport ships HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora had been deployed and were ready to be called into service, if required. Labor has backed the move.
The ships are believed to be heading towards Darwin. But Mr Howard would not say if the ships had been despatched in response to the Timorese situation. "We have had absolutely no requests," he said.
A defence spokesman said the Kanimbla and Manoora were bound for waters in Australia's north. "It's what the military does, use its assets in such a way that if they were to receive any requests we would be able to respond quickly," he said. However, there were no requests for help from East Timor "at this stage".
The Timorese Government insists it has control of the situation, but it has said it would accept assistance if the situation were to change. A spokesman for East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said Timor had "absolutely" no need for assistance at the moment.
| "No, no, certainly not!" |
East Timor's ambassador in Australia, Hernani Coelho Da Silva, said the Australian Government had not informed Timor about its plans to send ships to Australia's northern waters. "We are always grateful for the Australian Government (support)," he said.
The Kanimbla and Manoora could be heading north with as few as 50 crew aboard each vessel, ready to reload in Darwin if called into action. "This is really a preliminary deployment of these vessels, contingent on things deteriorating in East Timor and the East Timorese government asking for assistance," said Professor Ross Babbage, chairman of the Kokoda Foundation, an independent security thinktank. "In that event these ships ... could then be loaded by troops and assets, helicopters and other things, and then be deployed into East Timor, as appropriate."
The Australian move comes as the United Nations considers a request to extend its mission in East Timor - initially by one month. The mission is due to end on May 19. Dr Ramos Horta's spokesman said during the month the UN would assess whether it needed to remain in Timor for a further year. "The original proposal was to provide what they described as a political office, mainly to assist with the elections in May next year, however, if the situation doesn't get better for some reason, then they would look at having some military component," he said.