[Australia]: Message to Poland [SEC=TOP SECRET]

[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

15 January 2004

Dear Mr. Borusewicz, My Consul-General in Noumea, Mrs. Annelise Young, has given me an update on the current situation on the ground in New Caledonia from her and our other diplomats perspectives. She has told me that whilst most foreign forces have begun to withdraw, there is still a sizeable amount of Polish forces on the streets of Noumea. Whilst we recognise the importance of the mission that was and is at play, especially in the absence of an Australian Government concerned with regional stability, we are becoming increasingly worried about the prolonging of forces there. Whilst we recognise the war between France and Canada is ongoing, the lack of transparency by nations other than Thailand about their movements on the island is worrying. Thailand has kept the Australian Government updated on the size of their forces and other information they deem appropriate, which we appreciate and we would like it if Poland could also do the same thing. We would also like to see if we can discuss moving away from unilateral action in New Caledonia towards a more regional-based approach. New Caledonia and France's other Pacific possessions remain members of the South Pacific Forum. The Secretary General of the South Pacific Forum, Mr. Greg Urwin has informed me that he would like to send South Pacific Forum observers to the island, made up of personnel from the Secretariat and all member states, to monitor foreign forces which are currently on the island. It would be more ideal that the humanitarian situation move towards being handled by the South Pacific Forum and the Australian Government through our AusAID program and other necessary agencies, if deemed appropriate, such as the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force, rather than military forces from far away. It is not the Australian Government's intentions to have a sour relationship with Poland and the first step to ensuring that doesn't occur would be for Poland to recognise the legitimacy of Australia's interests in the region and the legitimacy of the South Pacific Forum as the leading multinational organisation in the region. Yours sincerely, Kevin Rudd.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

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ManBear

 

[ManBear]

To: Kevin Rudd, Australian Ministry of Foreign Relations Owen

Subject: New Caledonia

CC: N/A

Security: Secured and Encrypted Top Secret by POSP

Minister Rudd, First I would like to thank you for reaching out to us regarding the matter you detailed in your prior message. We do not wish to cause any regional turmoil within the Oceania Region. And we completely understand your concerns in regards to the joint Polish-British-Thai humanitarian operation currently ongoing within the French territory of New Caledonia. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there is no way we can currently reveal classified information regarding an ongoing Polish military operation, even one classified as humanitarian in nature. Having been invited by the previous French administration and asked to stay by the current administration until a proper exchange of power can be handled, I cannot in good faith subject the New Caledonian people to an exchange of power to another foreign power when their own territorial owners haven't visited the island in at least a year. Those of us in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Ministry of National Defense feel it would do more harm to the civilians of the islands. I do not wish to sound contrite, but the Polish soldiers and medical personnel on the island have formed a close connection with the citizens who call the island home and on top of the connection there is a level of trust that would be betrayed if we removed our forces from the Island at the behest of a foreign government. I am sure you can understand our position in regards to the removing our forces from a friendly nation where they were invited to allow another foreign nation to have boots on the ground, whether their intentions are pure of heart or not. We would fail in our job of providing safety and security for these people that our Humanitarians soldiers have so diligently worked at since the beginning of this operation. I can, however, give you a brief synopsis on the current operations on the island as a way to show that Australia and the South Pacific Forum need not have any concern with Polish-Thai forces on the Island. Polish medical personnel from the Royal Medical Service have established several free medical clinics through the northern and southern parts of the island, utilizing former British camps for the northern parts. Through these free clinics, the populace of New Caledonia receive efficient and rapid medical care that was not present on the island prior to the presence of Polish forces. This includes MRIs, X-Rays, CT Scans, contraception, medical checkups, emergency surgery, urgent surgery, inoculations, and other medical services. Polish Special Forces have worked diligently with the local police forces on the island to route out insurrectionist activity as well as provide additional security and peacekeeping efforts to ensure the safety of local citizens. The naval task force assigned to provide assistance to the forces on the ground act as a intermediary coast guard and provide additional intelligence services to the local police forces and Polish Special Forces. I would like to reiterate that while we respect the position Australia is in regarding New Caledonia, we cannot in good conscious allow a foreign nation without the consent of the governing body to establish a foothold within New Caledonia, especially with the event that sparked the original reason Polish Forces interceded on the Island on behalf of the French Government. While we will allow foreign observers from a NGO to perform checks on the island, We insist that Australian military vessels do not cross into the territorial waters of New Caledonia. As a safety precaution for Polish Forces, New Caledonia Citizens, and Australian forces.

Sincerely, Bogdan Borusewicz Minister of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Poland

 

[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

15 January 2004

Dear Mr. Borusewicz, Whilst I understand your concerns, it is not Australia's intention to exchange power from one foreign power to another. We are by no means an expansionist power, but we have interests in the region and we are focused on maintaining a region which is free from foreign influence, that is, nations who are outside of the region. Pacific Island nations have for years turned to Australia for development, assistance and as well as defense and foreign affairs representation. We stand up for the Pacific wherever we go. I don't appreciate the notion that Australia is merely another foreign power, equal to that of Poland or Thailand, without recognising the unique position we have with legitimate interests and influence in the region, not to mention being a direct neighbour of New Caledonia. Our main concerns lie with the military posture of Polish forces on the island. As you have repeated, it is a humanitarian mission and we have been told by the Thai Government that the security situation on the island is calm, calm enough to be handled by law enforcement agencies rather than military forces. Whilst we are grateful for a prolonged humanitarian effort on the island by Poland, we would like to see a wind-down of military forces, which both the UK and Thailand have done but for some reason, Poland has not. Whilst it is sad to have to remove connections that your forces have built with the local population, there will have to come a time where your forces are eventually no longer needed and they are withdrawn regardless. Unless of course, they plan on staying there permanently, which in such scenario would quickly see Australia-Poland relations hit all time lows not even seen during the Warsaw Pact era. I will be contacting my French counterpart to see if there is any support that Australia can offer to New Caledonia at this time and if necessary, obtain consent. The suggestion I made of Australian Defence Forces is merely for logistical support, if the security situation is as Thailand describes, there would be no need for further combat military forces on the island, instead contingents of Australian Federal Police, AusAID and National Critical Care and Trauma Centre employees would be more appropriate. Yours sincerely, Kevin Rudd.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
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OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
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ManBear

 

[ManBear]

To: Kevin Rudd; Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Subject: Re: New Caledonia

CC: N/A

Security: Secured and Encrypted Top Secret by POSP

Minister Rudd, Thank you for continuing this civil discourse regarding the situation pertaining to New Caledonia and the Polish humanitarian detachment there. I would like to expand on some points you made in your previous message regarding the Polish military stance within New Caledonia. Primarily, the Polish military is operating in conjunction with New Caledonia authorities to route out insurrectionist activity. While the region has been peaceful for sometime, is it still believed to be a sizeable insurrectionist cell within the territory that has gone underground to avoid detection and capture. While the UK has indeed withdrawn forces from Caledonia at their own behest, Thailand's military force number ten thousand strong combat troops before the intervention of Polish and United Kingdom forces on the island, which was spurred on by the Thai planting their flag on the island in what seemed to be an attempt at annexation of the sovereign territory of France. With this history of the recent troubles of New Caledonia, I am sure you can see our hesitancy to allow another foreign nation into the New Caledonian region without the proper support from France or a deep understanding of the recent history of the Island region. In a further explanation in regards to Polish military personnel on the ground in New Caledonia, the troops who are rated for combat operations numbers less than what the United Kingdom and the Republic of Thailand had on the Island when they were conducting operations. While we agree that there will come a time of removal of Polish forces from the island, we will not do so until the Empire of France decides it is time to do so and has taken a stance towards installing their own governmental body back onto the Island. In regards to the situation that your Thai counterpart has described. The Thai forces on New Caledonia, while they are currently stationed there, they have not performed any action towards humanitarian needs of the Island since Polish forces arrived and have been used to assist in moving cargo between Polish clinics established on the island. While I do not doubt their abilities to acquire intelligence, they have not been actively doing so on the island in some time. Simply utilizing one nations intelligence report instead of combining the reports of all active forces on the island would be poor planning and could lead to further loss of life on the island. Like yourself, we will be contacting the French government to inquire as to the steps they currently wish Poland to take during this trying time.

Sincerely, Bodgan Borusewicz Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Poland

 

[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET (ENCRYPTED)​

15 January 2004

Dear Mr. Borusewicz, I appreciate your honesty about the current and historical situation on the island. We do hope that you can quickly root out these insurrectionist elements in New Caledonia, there was a time previously where we almost sent a Regional Assistance Mission to New Caledonia to do the same thing before France withdrew the request. It is indeed concerning what Thailand did in the past and we have always approached them with caution, willing to cooperate but not keen to get too comfortable, we maintain an appropriate distance with them. We appreciate Poland's efforts to avoid a Thai annexation of the island in the absence of a useful Australian Government that actually concerned themselves with regional affairs. The United Kingdom's actions are not as much of a concern to us, they are a long-standing ally and South Pacific Forum member. If there is anything that Poland needs in terms of support in defeating the insurgents on the island, such as intelligence support, logistical support, please don't hesistate to ask. There are an array of Australian military bases on the coast of Queensland directly adjacent to New Caledonia which are open to your forces to use for supplies, fuel, R&R, etc. We ultimately believe that cooperating with Poland is more beneficial to both of us. Yours sincerely, Kevin Rudd.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

Protective Marking:	Business Impact Level:	Compromise of Information Confidentiality:	Required to be Encrypted:
UNOFFICIAL	No Business Impact	No damage. This information does not form part of official duty.
OFFICIAL	Low Business Impact	No or insignificant damage. This is the majority of routine information.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive	Low to Medium Business Impact	Limited damage to an individual, organisation or government generally if compromised.
PROTECTED	High Business Impact	Damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
SECRET	Extreme Business Impact	Serious damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.
TOP SECRET	Catastrophic Business Impact	Exceptionally grave damage to the national interest, organisations or individuals.

ManBear