China's defense chief to attend ASEAN+8 security session, meet U.S. counterpart

English.news.cn   2010-10-06

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie will travel to Vietnam next week to attend a security conference and meet with his U.S. counterpart, a Chinese Defense Ministry official said Wednesday.

"Liang will attend a meeting in Hanoi of defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and eight other invited countries," Guan Youfei, deputy director of Foreign Affairs Office of China's Defense Ministry, told a press briefing on Wednesday.

Liang will address the conference, elaborating on China's defense policy and proposals on regional security cooperation, Guan said.

China's defense chief will have bilateral or multilateral meetings with his counterparts from some of the ASEAN nations and eight other countries on the sidelines of the security conference, which will convene its first session next Tuesday.

"Liang is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates," Guan said, saying the meeting will be "short but significant."

This will be the first meeting between the defense chiefs of the two countries after bilateral military ties were damaged in January following the Pentagon's decision to sell a nearly 6.4-billion-U.S.-dollar arms package to Taiwan, an inalienable part of China.

Liang will also meet one-on-one with defense chiefs from Australia, Republic of Korea, India and Laos, while meetings with other countries were being negotiated, Guan said.

The ASEAN+8 defense chiefs' conference serves the common interests of Asia and Pacific countries and works to ensure regional peace, stability and prosperity,Guan said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam while the eight other countries include Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, ROK and the United States.

"China holds a positive attitude towards the ASEAN+8 defense chiefs' conference and would like to work with other countries to seek substantive results from the conference," Guan said.

Guan also appreciated the preparation the hosting country Vietnam had made for the session.

Guan dismissed the speculation that the conference would discuss the South China Sea issue, saying "it is not on the agenda."

"China's consistent stance is that the South China Sea issue is not an issue between China and ASEAN, nor can the issue be discussed under the framework of ASEAN+8," Guan said.

Apart from attending the regional security conference, Liang will visit Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh.

During his stay in Hanoi from Sunday to next Wednesday, Liang will meet with Nong Duc Manh, Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee general secretary and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

As this year coincided with the 60th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and marked China-Vietnam Friendship Year, China would like to make the best of Liang's visit to enhance bilateral trust, expand friendly exchanges, deepen substantial cooperation and seek a steady growth of bilateral military relations, Guan said.

Editor: Mo Hong'e

Thai PM to discuss border dispute with Cambodian PM during ASEAN Plus Three summit

www.chinaview.cn, Wang Guanqun, 2009-04-05 16:01:11

BANGKOK, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday said he would discuss about the border dispute issue with Cambodian Prime Minister Hunsen during the ASEAN Plus Three summit to be held next week in Thailand.

Meanwhile, Abhisit expressed condolence to families of the two Thai soldiers, who died after Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire on the disputed border area on Friday.

Abhisit vowed to quickly solve the ongoing border dispute, which had prolonged since both sides had had different views on the line of demarcation, the website by Bangkok Post reported.

The Thai Prime Minister said as he respected the International Court's ruling after it awarded the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962, however, he conceded the situation had intensified after Cambodia applied to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

Abhisit said he would at the same time ensure that Thailand would not lose its territorial right on Thailand's northeastern province of Si Sa Ket, which borders Cambodia.

Also, Thai Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban and Defence Minister Pravit Wongsuwan were continually coordinating with Cambodian authorities, Abhisit said.

Thailand will hold the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN Plus Three summit from April 10 to 12 in beach resort Pattaya of Thailand's central province of Chonburi.

RI, China to sign military technology cooperation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/01/2009 11:47 AM

Indonesia and China are to sign soon an agreement on military technology cooperation, following an already signed memorandum of understanding in 2007, a top Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

“The agreement will be signed soon. China will help Indonesia to develop its military technology,” said Brig. Gen. Subekti, Director of Strategic Environment Analysis at the ministry, in Beijing as quoted by Antara on Wednesday.

Subekti is attending a China-ASEAN top-officers dialogue, which was hosted by Chinese Academy of Military Science, from March 30 until April 2.

He said that Indonesia was expecting China to help state arms producer PT Pindad, state-owned ship maker PT PAL Indonesia and state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia to produce upper medium class military technology.

“And not only helping us with the technology but also in marketing the products produced through the cooperation,” he said.

In 2005, President Yudhoyono visited his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao, in Beijing to sign a strategic partnership, which included the agreement to strengthen the defense cooperation between both countries.

Indonesia was the first country in Southeast Asia to enter into such a strategic partnership with China. (dre)

Southeast Asia military delegates tour China base

The Jakarta Post, Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press, Nankou, China | Tue, 03/31/2009 9:45 PM

Top Southeast Asian military brass toured a tank base north of Beijing on Tuesday, highlighting China's growing engagement with a region that has long felt neglected by the United States.

Officers from the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations viewed a demonstration of sophisticated computer training simulators at the home of the Sixth Armored Division, then posed for photos with members of China's People's Liberation Army in front of tanks, armored personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery.

The division, based in the town of Nankou at the foot of the Great Wall of China, is one of China's elite units, charged with conducting mobile operations and providing security for the Chinese capital.

Tuesday's visit followed two days of workshops focused on boosting cooperation in peacekeeping and humanitarian relief along with efforts to fight piracy and drug smuggling.

"We have seen a real strengthening of Chinese engagement with ASEAN. They're pretty keen on participating in all of our forums," Thai Army Brig. Gen. Chainan Jantakananuruk told The Associated Press.

The U.S., Jantakananuruk said, "needs to get more involved."

China's new engagement is a reassertion of its once considerable influence in Southeast Asia, and could challenge U.S. sway at a time when Washington is distracted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The region often felt slighted by the Bush administration, and President Barack Obama has sought to reverse this perception of neglect. In February, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton strongly indicated U.S. intentions to step up engagement with a visit to ASEAN's Indoesia headquarters.

"The U.S. must enhance cooperation with ASEAN," said Indonesian Brig. Gen. Subekti, whose country's military has been subject to U.S. sanctions over its rule in East Timor and past human rights abuses.

"Now that Indonesia has made progress in those areas ... whether relations wil get better depends on the U.S. getting more involved," said Subekti, who like many Indonesians uses just one name.

Despite such statements, Washington's clout remains and China's recent ties with Southeast Asia have not been entirely smooth. China's enormous economic power has prompted concern, while teritorial disputes in the South China Sea have moved no closer to resolution.

China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines have overlapping claims to all or parts of South China Sea island groups and the waters that surround them. Along with rich fishing grounds, the South China Sea is belieed to have large oil and natural gas reserves. The disputed island groups also straddle busy sea lanes that are a crucial to China's economy.

Vietnamese Brig. Gen. Nyuyen Duc Thinh said Hanoi preferred to engage Beijing directly in its territorial dispute with China, but said multilateral forums were usefu for improving trust and understanding.

Despite recent exchanges of diplomatic protests among the disputants, Thinh said the danger of a conflict remained low.

"It's under control, things are stable, all sides are showing control and restraint," he said.

China asks Indonesia to maintain ASEAN regional security

Beijing (ANTARA News) - China has asked Indonesia to jointly step up security in ASEAN region, especially during the global financial crisis which led to a significant change in the field of security and defense.

"The global financial crisis has a negative impact on a number of countries, including those in East Asia, and has changed the security situation in East Asia and ASEAN," Chinese Military and Science Academy(AMS) spokesman Lt Gn Liu Chengjun said in a China-ASEAN Defense dialog here on Monday.

Present in the dialog were among others Indonesian Defense Ministry`s Strategic Environmental Analysis director Brig Gen Subekti, Indonesian Defense Attache in Beijing Col Infantry Yayat Sudrajat, and a number of ASEAN and Chinese military officials.

Chengjun said the global crisis had already caused social conflicts and regional instability.

In addition, he said several terrorist activities and separatism, cross border crime such as piracy, and human trafficking would probably escalate.

"Therefore, China and Indonesia, including ASEAN should have a joint security system," he said.

To maintain peace and security in the region, he said China would like to be Indonesia and ASEAN partner as good neighbors.

"China has so far built a strong foundation in defense cooperation with ASEAN and it would continue to be developed in the future," he said, adding that every year China had a defense consultation mechanism with Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In addition, China also had a defense cooperation agreement with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, and strategic cooperation with Thailand.

Japan readies defence for North Korea rocket launch

Reuters, Yoko Nishikawa, Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:47pm EDT

TOKYO (AFP) | by Kyoko Hasegawa | 04:49 PM. 03/27/2009

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday ordered its military to prepare to intercept any dangerous debris that might fall on its territory if a missile launch planned by Pyongyang goes wrong.

Pyongyang has said that between April 4-8 it will launch a satellite, but regional powers believe the real purpose is to test its longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2. It has already positioned what is believed to be the missile on a launch pad.

"I have issued an order ... to prepare to destroy any object that might fall on Japan as a result of an accident involving a flying object from North Korea," Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters after a meeting of Japan's Security Council.

North Korea this week put a long-range missile in place for the launch, which the United States has warned would violate U.N. sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for past weapons tests.

Top nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea and the United States were to meet in Washington on Friday in a signal of growing concern over the possible launch, the first big test for U.S. President Barack Obama in dealing with the prickly North.

INTERCEPT DEBRIS

Japan's pacifist constitution does not allow it to intercept a missile if it is clearly heading elsewhere, but Tokyo would try to shoot down a missile aimed at Japanese territory and might try to intercept any debris that falls toward Japan.

Japan is expected to move ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors to northern Japan, which lies under the rocket's trajectory, and deploy two Aegis-equipped destroyers with Standard Missile-3 interceptors off Japan's coast. [ID:nT101218]

North Korea has given international agencies notice of the rocket's planned trajectory that would take it over Japan, dropping booster stages to its east and west.

The U.S. military has said it could with "high probability" intercept any North Korean missile heading for U.S. territory, if ordered to do so. Pyongyang says any attempt to shoot down the rocket would be an act of war.

Japan has interceptors theoretically capable of shooting down a missile aimed at its territory, but analysts are divided on whether it can intercept free-falling debris that may fall toward Japan.

South Korea said the launch would be a serious challenge to security in north Asia, which accounts for one sixth of the global economy. Japan urged North Korea to refrain from action that would destablise the region.

The planned launch and growing tension on the Korean peninsula are beginning to worry financial markets in the South, although so far there has been only minor impact.

SHAKE THE MARKETS

"If they really fire something, it would definitely shake the financial markets, but only briefly, as has been the case in many previous cases of provocation and clashes," said Jung Sung-min, a fixed-income analyst at Eugene Futures.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Mexico earlier this week, said the launch would deal a blow to six-party talks to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

Those talks sputtered to a halt in December over disagreement on how to check the North was disabling its nuclear facilities.

North Korea warned that any action by the U.N. Security Council to punish it would be a "hostile act".

North Korea faces a range of U.N. sanctions and many analysts doubt new ones would get past China -- the nearest Pyongyang has to a powerful ally -- in the Security Council.

China, sticking to its low-key approach, said it hoped all "relevant parties will remain restrained and calm".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also cautioned the international community against making rash decisions.

"Do not try to make evaluations before events have occurred," he said in Moscow, while noting U.N. Security Council resolutions should be adhered to.

A successful launch would be a huge boost at home to leader Kim Jong-il, whose illness last year -- widely thought to have been a stroke -- has raised questions over his grip on power. (Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by David Fox)

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Japanese navy sails ahead of NKorean rocket launch

U.S. destroyers on move as N. Korea prepares rocket launch

Russia urges North Korea not to go ahead with its planned rocket launch next month

Japan says ready to shoot down NKorea missile

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Cambodia: Thai troops crossed border; Thais deny

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Phnom Penh | Wed, 03/25/2009 5:40 PM

Cambodia accused Thai troops of crossing into its territory on Wednesday and said the two sides were "getting ready to fight," even as a Thai commander insisted all was calm and the border had not been breached.

According to Cambodian officials, more than 100 armed Thai soldiers entered Cambodia in the afternoon about a half-mile (one kilometer) west of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple - long a site of flare-ups over the countries' ill-defined border.

The temple was the site of two clashes last year that sparked brief concerns of war.

"The situation is very tense, and both sides are getting ready to fight," Cambodian army Capt. Theam Thy, who is stationed at the border, told The Associated Press.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers, said that the Thai soldiers were armed and had crossed into an area known as Eagle Field, where a confrontation occurred in October.

"We are negotiating with their commanders to ask them to leave the area now because it is Cambodian territory," he said, adding that the Thai soldiers were trying to set up camp there.

But Thai army Col. Pichit Nakarun, the commander at the border, denied the accusation.

"There has been no troop movement that encroaches on the Cambodian border," he told the AP. "The situation is not more tense than usual."

Soldiers from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, when long-standing tensions flared after UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage Site.

More clashes erupted in October when two Thai soldiers lost legs after stepping on land mines. The incident came just days after a brief gunfight broke out between soldiers from the two sides. One Cambodian and two Thai soldiers were wounded. Both sides claimed the other fired first and blamed each other for being on the wrong side of the border.

In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated bcause the countries refer to different maps.

Malaysia's next leader: Ruling party must reform

The Jakarta Post, Vijay Joshi, The Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur | Tue, 03/24/2009 8:28 PM

Malaysia's incoming prime minister signaled radical reforms in the ruling party, warning Tuesday that failure to end deep-rooted corruption and politics of patronage would sound its death knell.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who will take over the country's leadership next week, said the United Malays National Organization party should learn from its humbling losses in last year's general elections.

"What is at stake is nothing less than the very fate of" the party, Najib said in a hard-hitting and candid speech to open the party's annual congress, which over the next five days will conduct the biggest revamp of leadership in decades.

The party "must learn from the message" given by voters last year, Najib, 55, said. "If we do not heed this message, their seething anger will become hatred and in the end this may cause them to abandon us altogether."

UMNO, as the dominant party in the ruling National Front coalition, has been in power since independence in 1957. But its popularity plummeted in the March 2008 elections when the Front failed to get a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in 40 years. It also ceded control of five of Malaysia's 13 states to the opposition.

Much of voter anger was directed at UMNO, whose leaders are widely perceived as corrupt, power-hungry and inefficient. The party is accused of subverting the judiciary, the police force and the bureaucracy.

Chinese and Indian minorities also say the party's leaders have fueled a religious and ethnic divide in the country.

Even UMNO's process of electing its leaders is controversial. Although the party has more than 3 million members, the vast majority have no say in party elections.

Instead, only some 2,600 delegates vote in party elections, and candidates for the posts must only secure a certain number of nominations from the heads of the party's 191 districts.

This has led to a culture of patronage with district heads and delegates often taking bribes and other favors in return for their nominations or votes.

In an extraordinarily bold proposal, Najib suggested direct elections for party officials.

"The time has come for us to review" this system so that the selection of leaders "will be more inclusive," he said.

Najib's proposal risks alienating division leaders, who will be deprived of their leverage. It could also anger Najib's own allies, many of whom have little grass roots support to get elected directly.

The party's elections this year will be under the old system.

On Wednesday, the party will elect the chiefs of its youth and women's wings. Delegates will elect the deputy president, three vice presidents and 25 supreme council members on Thursday.

Najib will be elected unopposed as party president, a post that traditionally carries with it the office of prime minister. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in office since October 2003, is expected to hand over power to Najib on April 2 or 3.

But as Najib prepared to take over, the opposition accused him of trying to silence critics. On Monday, the government banned the opposition's flagship newspapers for three months and used tear gas to break up a rally by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"These heavy handed tactics are probably attempts to show off that Najib is going to be a strong leader," said Aasil Ahmad, an opposition lawyer.

The opposition says the crackdown is an attempt to stop it from making fresh allegations of corruption against Najib. He has been dogged for years with accusations of involvement in shady defense deals and of links in the slaying of a Mongolian woman in 2006. Najib has denied all allegations.

RI, Singapore agree to intensify military cooperation

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 03/24/2009 7:10 PM

The Indonesian Army and the Singapore Armed Force (SAF) have agreed to intensify cooperation, among other things, by encouraging exchange of visits by their officers in all ranks.

"The exchange of visits by TNI AD and SAF officers is part of the efforts to increase bilateral cooperation," Brigadier General Lodewijk F Paulus, army training and education command director, said when receiving 36 SAF officers in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday, Antara newswire reported.

He said it was the second time for SAF officers to visit Bandung and the exchange would be intensified in the future, in order to strengthen cooperation between the two countries' armies.

The two armies had also agreed on information and experience sharing in order to boost the development of their education systems, he said.

China tells Japan it wants aircraft carrier

Beijing (ANTARA News/Afp) - China will not remain the world's only major nation without an aircraft carrier indefinitely, state press Monday cited the nation's defence minister as telling his Japanese counterpart.

Liang Guanglie made the remarks to visiting Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday, the Oriental Morning Post said, in discussions that took place after a recent spike in tension in the South China Sea.

"Among the big nations only China does not have an aircraft carrier. China cannot be without an aircraft carrier forever," the paper quoted Liang as saying, citing Japanese official sources.

"China's navy is currently rather weak, we need to develop an aircraft carrier."

Liang's comment is the highest-level recent confirmation that China aims to acquire an aircraft carrier, a sophisticated piece of military hardware that can be used to project power far beyond a nation's shores.

It comes after several similar calls in recent months by senior members of the People's Liberation Army.

"Building aircraft carriers is a symbol of an important nation. It is very necessary," the China Daily quoted Admiral Hu Yanlin as saying earlier this month.

"China has the capability to build aircraft carriers and should do so."

In December, defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping told reporters that China would "seriously" consider getting an aircraft carrier.

Defence Minister Liang was speaking after Chinese vessels confronted and nearly collided with a US naval surveillance ship in what Washington says are international waters off south China earlier this month.

The confrontation was described by US intelligence director Dennis Blair as the most serious military incident involving the two powers since a US spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet in April 2001.

China said the US naval ship Impeccable was carrying out illegal activities in its exclusive economic zone.

Beijing has also reacted angrily to a Philippine law passed earlier this month that laid claim to parts of the Spratlys Islands in the South China Sea which are claimed by China and other nations in the region.

China called the law "illegal and invalid," and dispatched a civilian patrol boat to the region.

3 Indian warships leave for China to join international fleet review

www.chinaview.cn, 2009-03-21 13:38:39

NEW DELHI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Three warships and a tanker of the Indian Navy Friday left India for China for participating in an international fleet review to be held in the northern Chinese navy port of Qingdao, the local daily The Statesman reported on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted Naval sources as saying the three warships, all belonging to the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy, are guided missile destroyers INS Mumbai and INS Ranveer, and guided missile corvette INS Khanjar. The tanker is INS Iyoti.

The Indian warships will make calls at ports in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea along its way to China, said the newspaper.

The fleet review, to be held from April 20 to 24, is for marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the navy force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

Editor: Sun

Defense, extradition pacts with Singapore frozen: Juwono

Abdul Khalik and Lilian Budianto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 03/20/2009 1:10 PM

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono accused Singapore on Thursday of not signing an extradition pact with Indonesia out of fear it would be obliged to return money stashed away by corrupt fugitives who fled to the city state during the 1998-2001 financial crisis.

The Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), also negotiated along with the extradition agreement, seems to have collapsed as well.

"They *agreements* are frozen," he told The Jakarta Post.

"Singapore doesn't want this extradition arrangement because it would have to return money from corrupt individuals who ran from Indonesia, along with the hot money it gets from other countries," he said.

Juwono said there were 80 Indonesian fugitives living in Singapore.

He said when he met with Singapore's senior minister Lee Kuan Yew in Jakarta last year, the city state's founder stated that it did not make any sense to return the money.

Indonesia and Singapore signed both the DCA and the extradition treaty in 2007. However, the House of Representatives slammed the government over the terms of the DCA, claiming it compromised the nation's security and as such, both agreements were never put into practice.

The Indonesian government then asked for some changes to be made to the agreement which were promptly rejected by the Singaporean government.

The foreign ministries of both Singapore and Indonesia then agreed to not discuss the agreements when meeting diplomatically.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said recently that Singapore and Indonesia set aside the discussion of the DCA because the latter had raised new terms and issues after it had already been signed.

"We set aside the issues for the time being," said George Yeo.

"Singapore doesn't want this extradition arrangement because it would have to return money from corrupt individuals who ran from Indonesia."

"There has been no progress on the DCA because Indonesia insisted on substantive changes to the implementing arrangements despite having earlier agreed to it," Rajpal Singh, first secretary of the Singaporean Embassy, said.

"Singapore stands ready to proceed with the agreed and signed package of the DCA and Extradition Treaty when Indonesia is prepared to do so," he said in a statement to The Jakarta Post.

During a press conference held following the visit of George Yeo last week, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said they agreed not to discuss the DCA or other agreements.

George Yeo was in Jakarta last week to sign the western maritime boundary agreement with Indonesia after a five-year negotiation process.

Indonesian warship departs for Lebanon

The Jakarta Post | Fri, 03/20/2009 6:14 PM

Indonesian warship KRI Diponegoro-365 departed from Jakarta on Friday for Lebanon as a maritime task force to join the Marine Task Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (MTF-UNIFIL), Antara state news agency reported.

KRI Dipononegoro-365 will make stopovers at several seaports such as Cochin in India, Salalah in Oman, Port Said in Egypt, and Beirut in Lebanon, with a total distance of 6,555 miles.

In Lebanon, KRI Diponegoro will join the the MTF UNIFIL's Commander Task Force (CTF)-448, which has already had warships from France, Turkey, Greek, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Germany.

The Indonesian warship is among other things equipped with BO-105 NV-414 helicopter.

The commander of Konga XXVIII's Maritime Task Force is Colonel Aan Kurnia, while the commander of KRI Diponegoro-365 is Lieut. Col. Arsyad Abdullah.

General Djoko Santoso said it was for the first time that TNI, especially the Navy, sent its maritime task force to join the UN peace keeping force.

KRI Diponegoro will join the MTF UNIFIL for six months until October 2009, and if the mission is successful, TNI will send its second warship.

UNIFIL was created by the UN Security Council in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area.