East Timor and some South Pacific island states will likely remain unstable for the foreseeable future and will be a key focus of the defense forces of Australia and New Zealand, a New Zealand defense policy review said Tuesday.
While New Zealand and its territories were "highly unlikely" to face direct military threat, the "resilience of Pacific island states and the effectiveness of regional institutions will remain under pressure," warns the report, written by a Defense Force team and released Tuesday.
This means that close military allies and regional powers Australia and New Zealand must continue to contribute to stability, economic development, regional maritime surveillance, disaster relief and humanitarian aid in the area for at least 25 years, the report tells policy makers.
The troubled nation of East Timor, despite its significant oil and gas revenues "is likely to continue to require substantial foreign assistance ... to sustain itself as a viable state," it says.
East Timor, which broke from 24 years of Indonesian occupation in 1999 and was then briefly administered by the United Nations, has faced political turmoil and violence since declaring independence in 2002. Australia and New Zealand sent peacekeeping troops to the embattled country as part of a U.N. force to help restore law and order. Some 85 New Zealand troops remain in East Timor, where political instability continues.
New Zealand and Australia also have peacekeeping troops in the Solomon Islands, restoring law and order to the archipelago after six years of internal strife. Both countries have troops in Afghanistan, and contribute to U.N. peacekeeping efforts other parts of the world.
New Zealand's 14,000-strong defense force also provides support for marine resource protection, humanitarian relief and search and rescue in the South Pacific.
The report, the first review of the nation's defense forces in 13 years, proposes consolidating defense force bases nationwide, upgrading naval combat capabilities and replacing by 2020 its air force C-130 cargo and Orion maritime surveillance airplanes. It also proposes the purchase of more helicopters and new short-range maritime airplanes.
Prime Minister John Key said the report made it clear New Zealand must enhance its defense capabilities to be ready to meet challenges including a growing pressure on maritime resources, increasing illegal migration, continuing instability in some South Pacific island states and a "shifting" strategic balance in East Asia. He did not elaborate.
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