Previous Chiefs' Speeches/Presentations
ADDRESS BY GENERAL PETER COSGROVE AC MC
CHALLENGES OF PEACE OPERATIONS
"Facing future challenges to future operations - an ADF perspective"
Tuesday 11 November 2002
Introduction
Thanks to Professor Tim McCormack, Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, for inviting me to speak here this evening. I would also like to congratulate the APCML's collaborative partners, The Defence Legal Service and the University of Melbourne, for providing the necessary support to allow this Conference to be held.
Particular thanks also go to Defence Strategic and International Policy Division, because without the tremendous level of financial and organisational assistance provided by SIP, it would not have been possible to assemble this distinguished international audience tonight.
Background to Challenges Project
Many of you would be aware that the Challenges Project was initiated in Sweden in 1997. The ambitious aim of the Project has been to '... bring to bear, in an informal and collegial setting, the collective knowledge and views of participants on the challenges of peacekeeping and peace support as the world enters the 21st century.'
To achieve this aim, a series of seminars were held during the past five years in various locations throughout the world. To me, this global involvement emphasises that peacekeeping expertise is truly a global endeavour with no particular State or organisation having a mortgage on all of the answers to what contributes to effective what constitutes the perfect peacekeeping operationsif such a thing exists.
The Australian Defence Force was well represented during this process, with representatives from the APCML and the ADF Peacekeeping Centre attending a number of the seminars, and participating in editing the Concluding Report that was published earlier this year.
I congratulate the Conference Partners on achieving the milestone of publishing the Concluding Report of the first series of seminars, and their vision for the future culminating in a World Forum on the Challenges of Peace Operations and Processes to be held in 2005.
I am also delighted that Australia has been able to host this initial Follow Up Seminar, and that so many highly experienced civilian and military peacekeepers, academics and other experts in this field have been able to attend this Conference in Melbourne.
Purpose of speech
The purpose of my speech tonight, besides congratulating all those involved in the Challenges Project, is to consider some of the factors that influence how peace operations in the Asia Pacific might be conducted in the future. I will reflect on the peace operation with which I am most familiar, the INTERFET operation in East Timor, to illustrate those matters that seem to be most important to me.
Australian involvement in PSO
Before turning to East Timor, I should comment on the general nature of peace operations. It is perhaps an unfortunate hallmark of the latter part of the last century that peacekeeping operations have become increasingly prevalent. Some of these operations have been conducted as United Nations peacekeeping operations, while others have been conducted as part of a regional response to particular circumstances in a geographic area.
We can expect the trend, evidenced since the end of the Cold War, for peacekeeping operations to continue. Australia has a long and proud record of professional contribution to peace support operations both within our region and abroad. Our peace operations role began in 1947 when the United Nations asked the Australian Government to provide four military observers to join the UN Commission for Indonesia during Indonesia's struggle for independence from the Netherlands. Our involvement in peace enforcement began in 1950 with the deployment of ADF elements to Korea in response to the UN's call for member states to help South Korea resist North Korean invasion.
Regional operations involving Australian military forces include INTERFET, the Peace Monitoring Team in Bougainville and operations conducted by the Australian Defence Force following the violence in the Solomon Islands in 2000.
Humanitarian relief
We also have a good record of providing urgent assistance in humanitarian operations.
Increasingly the Australian Defence Force has been called on to operate in several arenas at once or within close proximity. For instance, in 1998 the Australian Defence Force was involved in several regional humanitarian operations. One in Irian Jaya in conjunction with the Indonesian Government and its armed forces, one in the Papua-New Guinea highlands and one on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. The first two were drought relief operations and the last involved provision of emergency medical support following a tidal wave that destroyed several villages. As mentioned earlier, in the same year the ADF assumed command of an important peace support operation in Bougainville - in what became a longer term operation.
Most recently of course, Australia has provided a range of military forces to support the coalition against terrorism. While necessarily modest in size due to our overall capability and our other current operational commitments, such as East Timor, these contributions have been highly regarded by our allies. Recently, the US Commander of Task Force Mountain in Bagram, Afghanistan, Major General Frank Hagenbeck, formally recognised the achievements of our Special Forces soldiers with a number of awards - some for individual contributions and others as a symbol of the achievements of the whole Australian Special Forces Task Group. Our Navy and Air Force commitments are similarly highly regarded.
It is worth noting that in each of the operations that I have just mentioned, Australia has not acted in concert with isolation of other countries in the region. In fact, Eengagement with our allies in the Asia Pacific region is a cornerstone of Australia's security outlook and we have been ably supported by various countries in the region, and in the case of INTERFET a global response, for various operations.
Impact of Sep 11 and Oct 12
I have little doubt that the shocking events of September 11 were a defining moment for each of us here tonight. Some of you live in New York, and would have witnessed first hand the carnage that occurred on that day. Others may have seen the destruction caused to the Pentagon, and all here would have seen the volumes of news footage that showed in such graphic detail the results of those terrorist acts.
More recently, we have witnessed the bombings in Bali on October 12 - just over four weeks ago. These bombings clearly demonstrated for Australians, as well as for the many other nationalities that suffered casualties in the attacks, that the influence of terror has no geographic bounds. It is as much a problem in this region as in any other part of the world.
It is therefore increasingly important, in my view, that we continue to pursue opportunities such as this for senior peacekeeping representatives - both military and non-military - to come together. Such events help foster the understanding and communication avenues necessary to address the security environment confronting all of us in the first few years of the 21st century.
Regional initiatives
As the world turns its attention to combating terrorism, the level of cooperation and determination within our region is strong. For instance, Australia has signed Memoranda of Understanding dealing with terrorism with Indonesia and Malaysia and other Memoranda of Understanding have been agreed between ASEAN nations. Such agreements are indicative of a shared resolve to confront and defeat this threat to regional peace and stability.
I expect, following the Bali bombings, that there will be greater emphasis placed on such regional initiatives as States in the Asia Pacific seek to combine intelligence, security and other resources to fight against the threat that terrorism brings to the region.
As Governments around the world increasingly focus on protecting their people's security, our diverse engagement experience will become increasingly important. Australia's future requires more than a combat focused, well-equipped, mobile and operationally ready defence force. The challenges facing us today mean that defence is but one integral part of the security of Australia and the international community in which we live.
Now more than ever the defence force must work closely and effectively with government and non-government agencies. Now more than ever it is imperative that the defence force foster better defence and other relationships with countries in our region and around the world, so as to play an effective role in ensuring the security of Australia, our region and the wider international community.
The East Timor Experience
Australia's experience in East Timor illustrates the value and importance of establishing and maintaining strong, ongoing relations between countries.
In August 1999, events began unfolding in East Timor which catapulted Australia's Defence Force into the largest and most complex peace operation in our region in which Australia has been - and remains - engaged.
Against the context of a deteriorating security environment, the Prime Minister indicated to the UN Secretary General Australia's willingness to take a leadership role in a UN mandated force to restore security to the troubled region.
In September 1999, at the UN's request and with the agreement of the Indonesian Government, Australia assumed leadership of the international coalition and responsibility for mobilising the international community's response.
The response was swift. In a record 5 days following the Security Council's mandate, Australia had coordinated the arrival of the first coalition forces in Dili. By the end of the first day, approximately 2,300 troops had deployed to East Timor.
For Australia, the experience of building and leading an international coalition - particularly against such a tight timeframe - was new.
While the task was challenging, through intensive efforts at both diplomatic and military levels and with the international community's overwhelming support, military and other necessary contributions to INTERFET were quickly secured.
In all, 22 countries from 6 continents committed troops to INTERFET - a truly international effort.
INTERFET was crucial to the success of the international aid effort providing the protection and stability needed to support humanitarian assistance operations.
Through its robust mandate, which included the ability to take all necessary measures to restore peace and security, INTERFET swiftly brought militia activity under control.
INTERFET completed its tasks in February 2000, formally transferring military command and control responsibility to the UNTAET PKF. This peacekeeping force gave outstanding service over its two years of existence.
I have no doubt that UNTAET's successor mission - the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) - will continue in the tradition set by its predecessor.
With the ongoing support of the international community, UNTAET and UNMISET have built on the security environment created by INTERFET, establishing the foundations for administration of the new country and rehabilitating economic and social infrastructure.
East Timor has come a long way in a short time. While its journey is not yet complete, the sense of shock and sadness I felt at the level of destruction that confronted us on our arrival in Dili now seems a lifetime ago.
Importance of relationship building
The East Timor peacekeeping effort was a remarkable one in a number of respects. While not perfect, for me INTERFET highlighted the importance of leadership, respect and understanding to a successful coalition relationship.
Without the spirit of cooperation and goodwill amongst all nations involved, and a willingness to find rapid and innovative solutions to potential difficulties, the operation would not have delivered the successful outcomes it did.
INTERFET worked overall because, despite the differences in backgrounds, we co-operated in a common purpose. We were helped by knowing each other, and having gained respect for each other, through past regional military engagement.
The first return on this investment came with the appointment of the deputy force commander, General Songkitti from Thailand. He and I knew each other from the British Army Staff College in the late 80s.
I had met the national commander of the American forces assigned to INTERFET, Brigadier John Castellaw, several times. I knew a number of the other national commanders and - in some cases, their superiors back in their home countries.
In addition, all of the regional contributors to INTERFET were accompanied by Australian officers who spoke their languages, who knew their cultures and had formed relationships with key officers in their armed forces. A number had trained with Australians in their home countries or had visited Australia for training. Consequently, these regional military leaders could rely on the ADF because they knew us and had worked with us.
My Indonesian counterpart in East Timor, Major General Kiki Syahnakri, worked very hard during the first critical weeks after INTERFET arrived in Dili to set the necessary groundwork. My relationship with General Syahnakri was built quickly through the good offices of our Army attache from Jakarta - Colonel Ken Brownrigg, who knew General Syahnakri well and had developed a relationship based on mutual respect.
One of my battalion commanders knew the Indonesian garrison commander in Dili, having exercised in Indonesia with his unit the year before. I met the same man at that training activity in Indonesia.
Many Australian officers in INTERFET were able to establish co-operative relations with Indonesian counterparts in East Timor because they had either trained in Indonesia - learned Bahasa - or had hosted Indonesian personnel who had trained in Australia.
Importantly, from the ADF's involvement in East Timor - like its involvement in Bougainville - new relationships were forged for the common purpose of peace and regional stability. The ADF worked closely with diplomats from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and representatives from AusAID - as well as other aid agencies and interested international organisations. We worked closely with officers from the Australian Federal Police and police forces of other nations. INTERFET - like the Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) in Bougainville - had to engage and work with political, community and religious groups as well as former combatants to create a momentum for peace, reconciliation and reconstruction.
Most importantly, both the PMG and INTERFET had to win the trust and support of the local people to give them the confidence to rebuild their communities - their infrastructure and their governing institutions. In both Bougainville and East Timor the participating nations in the PMG and INTERFET won a resounding vote of confidence from the local people.
Good will and cooperation is, however, only as strong as the environment in which it operates. I found that understanding and congruence were only achievable where the needs and concerns of each contributing nation were clearly established and acknowledged. It was important to recognise that countries come to coalition operations with unique national interests they want protected or achieved as part of their multi national force involvement.
Even in the pragmatic halls of a combined headquarters, this generated a responsibility to ensure that individual contributions and concerns were articulated and valued. This principle of 'reciprocal transparency' is an important one in combined operations - commensurate, as appropriate, with sensible regard to detail and operational security. Clear communication and respect for individual contributions and viewpoints paved a way through key differences and enabled a unified mission focus to emerge.
Know your coalition partners, cultivate a wide network and foster a cohesive team - three key operating principles crystallised by the East Timor experience. For the ADF, the key message from our roles in East Timor and recent humanitarian and peace support operations is that we need to be politically and culturally sophisticated in the conduct of coalition operations.
Good partners learn to speak each other's languages. Good partners learn to respect each other's religious and cultural beliefs. Good partners learn to allow for differences and to be inclusive. Good partners spend time with each other. Good partners understand that contentious issues should be resolved through negotiation so that conditions are not created for young people to take up arms to resolve issues at gunpoint. Good partners understand that at the end of the day it is in everyone's interests to ensure that families, communities, nations and regions are able to prosper free from armed intimidation.
Conclusion
I stated earlier that Australia's security focus remained primarily on our near region of the Asia Pacific. The Bali bomb blast of 12 October has clearly demonstrated the necessity for this focus.
The ongoing challenges presented by weapons of mass destruction, problems with state governance, the challenges that globalisation poses for some countries and the importance of the relations between the great powers, continue to be important in their relevance to, and impact on, our region. Tragically, the Bali bombings demonstrate all too clearly just how easy it can be to cause great loss of life and destruction in our region.
The future of peace support operations in this region lies in the maintenance of a common understanding of the security challenges that lie ahead. The bombings in Bali clearly demonstrate that the Asia Pacific is not immune from increasing acts of terrorism, and that those who practice terrorism have no concern for who their victims are. The list of dead, missing and wounded from the Bali bombings contains citizens from all parts of the world. In particular, the long-term effects on the citizens of Indonesia, whether directly affected due to death or injury, or indirectly affected as a result of the downturn in tourist activity, will be a challenge for all States in this region to help address.
Common resolve and purpose will allow us to meet this challenge.