Defence Magazine

Action from the last Exercise Pacific Protector in 2003 which involved assets and personnel from a host of countries including Australia, Japan and the United States.
Photo provided by Strategy Group

Who is leading the PSI?

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is an informal arrangement for cooperative action between like-minded countries. It does not have an overarching treaty, organisation or headquarters. Its strength is its focus on practical action against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation.

PSI-participating countries agree to cooperate, as required and as is practical in a given situation, and to act within national and international law. To integrate and benchmark operational capability, participating countries have conducted numerous exercises, such as Australia's Pacific Protector 03 and Pacific Protector 06. (See below.)

What is the Statement of Interdiction Principles?

The Statement of Interdiction Principles(SIP) sets out concrete actions for a more coordinated and effective basis through which to impede and prevent shipments of WMD, their delivery systems, and related materials flowing to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. All PSI participants have endorsed the SIP and encourage other states to do so.

The Statement of Interdiction Principles is available on the Internet at www.dfat.gov.au.

Are PSI exercises designed to send any particular country a message?

The PSI is a global initiative. Interdiction training exercises undertaken under PSI auspices are not aimed against any specific country or non-state actor.

Is there a blacklist of states of concern?

No. The PSI aims to help prevent trafficking in WMD by any state or group engaged in or supporting WMD proliferation programs, anywhere in the world.

Do PSI activities comply with international and national law?

By endorsing the SIP all PSI-participating countries have made an undertaking to act only within international law and national law.

The PSI itself does not grant authority to conduct interdictions. This is clearly understood by all PSI-participating nations.

Will other countries join the PSI?

The PSI is not an organisation that countries "join", but rather a framework for activities. Countries can participate in the PSI in a variety of ways, such as by stating their support for the SIP agreed in Paris in September 2003. The SIP outlines the core objectives and operational measures of the PSI.

More than 70 countries have indicated their support for PSI since its inception in 2003.

Will the PSI affect legitimate dual-use commerce?

No—quite the contrary. The PSI helps to foster legitimate commerce. Cooperation to stop proliferation should facilitate legitimate trade by increasing confidence in that trade. Private industries may also prefer to do business with PSI participants, who demonstrate their commitment to protecting international commerce from those who hide proliferation among legitimate trade routes and practices.

Proliferation is a threat to international security, which is the basis for international trade and the prosperity of all nations.

How does PSI relate to other non-proliferation regimes?

The PSI complements existing counter-proliferation measures, such as export control regimes. It does not replace other non-proliferation mechanisms, but builds on them by providing an operational mechanism when proliferators try to evade these regimes.

Exercise Pacific Protector 06

Members of Team Samurai board a vessel to search for weapons of mass destruction during the last Exercise Pacific Protector in 2003.
Photo provided by Strategy Group

Australia is set to demonstrate its strong commitment to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) with a major international exercise in the Northern Territory.

Exercise Pacific Protector 06 (PP06) involves a cooperative air interception scenario and ground-based activities around Darwin. It will be held in the first week of April, following an announcement by Senator Hill and Senator Ellison late last year.

The exercise will involve assets and personnel from a broad range of departments and agencies, including Defence, the Australian Customs Service, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Northern Territory government agencies. PP06 is the second Australian-hosted PSI exercise, following the successful conduct of Pacific Protector 03 in the Coral Sea.

The PSI is a global effort that aims to prevent shipments of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. The initiative has transformed how nations act together against proliferation, harnessing their diplomatic, military, law enforcement and intelligence assets in a multinational, yet flexible, fashion.

An early example of the PSI's effectiveness came in October 2003, when the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Italy acted to stop an illegal cargo of centrifuge parts to be used for uranium enrichment in Libya. This interdiction led to the decision by Libya to renounce its WMD programs. Countering the threat of WMD proliferation is a key strategic objective for Australia, and participation in multilateral initiatives such as the PSI is an important component of Australia's strategy.

The PSI builds on an existing network of arms control and counter-proliferation regimes and treaties. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has praised the PSI as an important way to "fill a gap in our defences".

The PSI is a vital response to the modern security environment, and it effectively complements traditional arms control and non-proliferation regimes. More than 70 states now support the PSI and this number is steadily increasing.

Defence

Strategy Group

Priority set on proliferation security