Australia will join international efforts in Sudan’s Darfur by sending a small military team to join a UN’s mission in the conflict zone, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday.
The nine Defense Force logisticians will be part of the UN Assistance Mission in Darfur, which aims to help restore peace and stability in the region, he said.
“Darfur has been a continuing tragedy and the Australian government has a responsibility to act and this contribution demonstrates our commitment to the UN and restoring peace and stability in Darfur,” Rudd said.
He said the team, which must still be approved by Sudan, was small because the government had reservations about large contributions from Western countries.
“So they’ve asked us for help and what I’ve said was we’ll provide what we can through the Australian Defense Force. It’s a modest contribution,” he said.
Rudd said the assistance would be backed by A$5 million (US$4.8 million) in humanitarian aid.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
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