UN and Indonesian officials yesterday said they would not scale back cooperation with the US military on tsunami-stricken Sumatra island, despite terror fears raised by the presence of an extremist Islamic group with alleged al-Qaeda links, and reports that one major aid agency said its staff had been ordered not to fly in US helicopters.
The Laskar Mujahidin set up a camp in Aceh province and posted a sign that read -- in English -- "Islamic Law Enforcement." Its members said they have been collecting corpses, distributing food and providing Islamic teaching for refugees.
The presence of the extremist group, accused of involvement in Christian-Muslim fighting elsewhere in Indonesia, has generated fears that US military personnel and others doing relief work could become terror targets.
It also underscores the fine line that foreigners must tread between being welcomed as Samaritans or viewed as invaders in a country where suspicion of outsiders runs deep.
US, Australian and South Korean government officials said they were aware of security threats in the region and were taking precautions.
But UN officials in Aceh said they would not scale back their cooperation with the US military, which is ferrying aid around the stricken province.
"This is a situation where everyone is pulling together to help the people who have been affected by this disaster," said Michael Elmquist, the UN official in charge of operations on Sumatra. "We need all the assistance we can get."
Alan Vernon, from the UN High Commission for Refugees, agreed, saying there was no need to keep US forces at arm's length.
"They have logistical assets we want to be able to take advantage of," he said.
Analysts said Islamic terrorists known to operate in Indonesia would be foolish to try to attack anyone helping the hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims, because it could result in aid groups pulling out and sour the militants' chances of building support.
Indonesian military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basukim said the Laskar Mujahidin group was not seen as a threat in Aceh.
A US official in Aceh said US forces were aware of the group.
"You've got to be on your toes," the official said. "We're watching them. Something can happen."
But Lieutenant Commander John Daniel, a spokesman for the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group, said chopper crews were not taking special security precautions.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it plans to revise the export control list for strategic high-tech products by adding 18 items under three categories — advanced 3D printing equipment, advanced semiconductor equipment and quantum computers — which would require local manufacturers to obtain licenses for their export. The ministry’s announcement yesterday came as the International Trade Administration issued a 60-day preview period for planned revisions to the Export Control List for Dual Use Items and Technology (軍商兩用貨品及技術出口管制清單) and the Common Military List (一般軍用貨品清單), which fall under regulations governing export destinations for strategic high-tech commodities and specific strategic high-tech commodities. The
RSS