East Timor
Singapore open to sending troops
Australian minister quotes Hsien Loong as saying request has to come from the beleaguered country. The Australian.
Jun 8, 2006
SINGAPOREAN Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will consider sending troops to help stabilise East Timor as soon as he gets a formal request from the East Timorese Government.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson raised the possibility of Singaporean troops going to East Timor in private talks with Mr Lee in Singapore at the weekend.
Singaporean troops would be highly sought after because of their high level of equipment, training, discipline and expertise.
However, sending ethnic Chinese troops into a territory adjacent to Indonesia would be acutely sensitive with Jakarta. It is believed the Singaporean and Indonesian governments have been discussing this issue.
Mr Lee gave strong backing to Australia's role in East Timor, where it is leading the multinational mission to restore peace.
"I think you have to do it," he told The Australian. "It's in your backyard."
However, he said Singapore would need a formal invitation from the East Timorese Government before sending troops. "They are the authority, they have the sovereign power."
Singapore sent troops to East Timor as part of the Interfet mission after the vote for independence in 1999.
"This time, we have not been asked (by the East Timorese Government) so the issue is hypothetical," Mr Lee said. "If the situation comes up, we will consider the matter."
It is believed Singaporean troops are at the top of the list of possible Southeast Asian contributions to the force in East Timor.
Mr Lee said that while foreign troops had a key role to play in restoring calm to the new country, the problem must ultimately be solved by the East Timorese.
"This is not a problem that can be solved by outside forces. It is a problem within East Timor, among East Timorese. They have to sort it out among themselves."
Mr Lee will visit Sydney and Canberra over several days from next Tuesday. It is his first visit to Australia as Prime Minister.
Mr Lee signalled one area of disagreement with Canberra, saying he was disappointed at the decision to exclude Singapore Airlines from routes to the US from Australia.
He said this decision was economically and strategically harmful to Australia and a sign that Qantas, which lobbied against the changes, had too much influence.
However, on other strategic questions, Mr Lee's views are consistent with those of John Howard, including the importance of the US not quitting Iraq before the job is done.
"If they quit in Iraq the price will be very high," he said.
"This is different from leaving Vietnam, where the Vietnamese just stay in Vietnam. If you leave Iraq, your enemies will follow you all over the world."
The Australian
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/security/CTrendsSecurity-060608.htm
Come back only got triple promotion, why don't go..beside that maybe can still get public service award..make my family proud
