Mr Oakeshott asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, in writing, on 11 March 2010:

In respect of Australia’s relationship with Burma, (a) since 1 January 2009, has the (i) Australian Navy participated in military exercises with the Burmese Government Navy, and (ii) Australian Government trained military personnel from Burma, if so, does the Minister recognise that such participation in military exercises could be interpreted as training exercises, and (b) does the Australian Government still support the call for a universal arms embargo against Burma.

Mr Combet – The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable member’s question:

1. Since 1 January 2009,
   1. the Royal Australian Navy has participated in two multilateral naval exercises to which Burma was also invited. From 4–8 February 2010, Burma and Australia, along with eleven other countries, participated in Exercise MILAN. This is an Indian-hosted biennial multinational activity that aims to foster cooperation between regional navies on counter piracy and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
      
      In October 2009, the Royal Australian Navy participated in Exercise BERSAMA LIMA under the auspices of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA). This exercise focuses on the interoperability of the military forces of Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore invited all ASEAN members to observe, including Burma. Burmese officials were not permitted to visit ADF ships or aircraft.
   2. no training was provided to Burma by the Royal Australian Navy as part of these exercises.
2. Yes.

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