[Australia]: National Security Committee of Cabinet Meeting #200401

[Owen]

​

National Security Committee of Cabinet​

1st of July 2004​

Meeting Place​

​

Cabinet Room, Parliament House, Capital Hill, Australian Capital Territory​

Attendees​

Type:	Attendees:
Mandated Attendees	Julia Gillard, Prime Minister (Chair) Kevin Rudd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Chair) John Faulkner, Minister for Defence Nicola Roxon, Attorney-General Wayne Swan, Treasurer Ros Kelly, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Stephen Conroy, Minister for Energy
Invited Attendees	Robert McClelland, Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State Jenny McAllister, Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Overseas Aid Alexander Downer, Leader of the Opposition Nick Warner, Secretary of the Department of Defence General Peter Cosgrove, Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of Air Force Vice Admiral Russ Crane, Chief of Navy Vice Admiral David Johnston, Chief of Joint Operations Major General Mike Hindmarsh, Special Operations Commander Australia Peter Varghese, Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence Tony Negus, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police Michael Cullen, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Annelise Young, Australian Consul-General in Noumea (via video link) Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland (via video link) French Representative (via video link) Vice Admiral Franciszek Gągor, Polish Armed Forces (via video link) Lew Kowalczyk, Polish Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs (via video link) Rear Admiral Brent Goodman, Commander of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence (via video link) Admiral Melo Gomes, Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy (via video link)

A representative of the French, Polish, United States, Thai and New Zealand Governments would be invited to attend the meeting.

Alexander ManBear Odinson basedcnt Bossza007

 

[Bossza007]

It was a regular afternoon in Bangkok, the bustling heart of Thailand, when the Australian Government reached out, inviting a Thai representative to join their National Security Committee of Cabinet meeting online. At that moment, the Thai cabinet members were deeply engaged in a parliamentary session. As soon as the message landed in the Thai Foreign Ministry's inbox, each cabinet member received a notification on their smartphones. Aware of their duty to the National Assembly, they swiftly sought permission for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to address the assembly after the ongoing question period.

"Thank you, Your Honor," Thaksin began, pausing briefly for effect. "Esteemed members of the National Assembly, both in the lower and upper houses, I must bring to your attention the need for a brief interruption in our proceedings. Though it falls outside the agenda for today, we have received an official invitation from the Australian Government. They wish for a Thai representative to join their virtual meeting regarding the recent unrest in New Caledonia, where our humanitarian forces are involved. After due consideration, the cabinet has designated Government Secretary Chuan Leekpai to represent us. I kindly request fifteen minutes of your time to facilitate this communication." the Government Secretary who is currently at Government House. Thank you.” Thaksin's request sailed through the National Assembly with unanimous approval, save for one absence noted by the House Speaker. As the clock ticked past the allocated fifteen minutes, the cabinet reconvened in the meeting hall.

Meanwhile, in his office, Chuan Leekpai, the Secretary of the Thai Government, occupied his seat. He held the de facto position of second-in-command to Prime Minister Thaksin. Although not elected, tradition dictated that the previous Prime Minister assumed this role, fostering continuity and unity between opposing parties or leaders. Seated behind his mahogany desk, adorned with a carpet bearing intricate Thai designs, Chuan Leekpai oversaw final preparations. Thai flags flanked him, standing tall against an office backdrop. With his team ensuring all connections were primed, Thailand was poised to enter the virtual meeting.

Owen ​

 

[basedcnt]

​

Encrypted, Secure - Official

Recipient: Australian DFAT < Owen >
Sender: Minster of Foreign Affairs Hon. Phil Goff < mfa@mfat.nz.gov >
Subject: Australian-French-Polish-Thai-American-New Zealander Meeting

The New Zealand Government has appointed the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister - and Minister of Finance - Michael Cullen to represent New Zealand in this forum.

Thank you,
Secratary Simon Murdoch, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Commonwealth of New Zealand

 

[Owen]

The New Zealand and Thai Representatives would be projected into the Cabinet Room via video link which would be encrypted by the Australian Signals Directorate.

"Mr. Leekpai and Mr. Cullen, welcome to this emergency session of the National Security Committee." Robert McClelland, the Cabinet Secretary would say.

"We're just getting a few more participants from around the world and here in Canberra in the room right now. The Deputy Prime Minister will be chairing the meeting as the Prime Minister is in New Zealand but she will be available via her Chief of Staff who is joining us via video link."

The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Angus Houston would walk into the room. He would walk up to General Peter Cosgrove and Secretary of the Department of Defence.

"I've got a bit of a situation, we have an unidentified aircraft to the north-east of Sydney and approaching. We don't know its origins but its coming from the direction of New Caledonia. Unfortunately we have nothing capable of intercepting it, so we may need to shut down airspace in the Sydney Region."

General Cosgrove would walk up to Robert McClelland.

"Rob there's a bit of a situation, unidentified aircraft to the north-east of Sydney. Angus reckons its coming from New Caledonia but we have nothing to intercept it, let the Prime Minister know anyway."

Bossza007 basedcnt

 

[basedcnt]

"Thank you, Mr Secretary." Dep. PM Cullen would say. "Greetings to the Thai representative, and thanks for both of your Governments to coming to the table. I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of this issue, so I will take a backseat in this discussion."

Owen Bossza007

 

[Bossza007]

Secretary Chuan greeted his Australian counterparts with respectful formality, his demeanor calm and professional in light of the serious situation. "Mr. McClelland, thank you for inviting Thailand to this emergency meeting. I understand our countries haven't always agreed, but Bangkok sees the revolt in New Caledonia as a matter of shared interest. I'm pleased to see a representative from New Zealand here as well. This shows a positive step toward involving regional partners in discussing the unrest." He said this to ease the tension. As he listened to the reports from the Australian side, he occasionally closed his eyes to reflect. It had been over five years since he participated in a high-level meeting with world leaders, back when he was the Prime Minister of Thailand. This invitation from the Australian Government brought a wave of nostalgia.

"If I may," Chuan interjected, seeking permission to speak. "If the aircraft is indeed heading towards Australia from New Caledonia, how can we be sure there are no important individuals onboard? Paris has been unresponsive for months, and if officials were fleeing, it's unlikely the French Government could inform us in advance." Chuan continued, "However, if the passengers are not who we expect, I trust Australian law enforcement has the capacity to ensure security and give them due process."

Owen basedcnt

 

[Owen]

"I guess we will soon find out who they are Mr. Leekpai, but nevertheless an unidentified aircraft still poses national security risks and we have to respond accordingly." Robert would respond.

Bossza007

 

[basedcnt]

"Sorry to interject, is there any other representatives joining?" Dep. PM Cullen would say. "A three-nation forum, looking over a dozen-nation issue, is likely not something that will hold respect in any other government."

Bossza007 Owen

 

[Bossza007]

Chaun was reflecting on his Australian counterpart's brief response when the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister's comment broke his train of thought. He nodded in acknowledgment before sharing his own view. "As far as I know, the Australian government has also invited representatives from the French Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, and the United States, Mr. Cullen. However, I don't have any information on whether these nations will join us. This morning, the Polish government informed Thailand that they are aware of the situation in New Caledonia. From what I understand, the French are unlikely to participate. Even as their closest ally, we haven't been able to reach them due to their domestic issues. As for the United States, Thailand isn't in a position to engage with their representative yet. Prime Minister Thaksin and President Gore agreed four months ago to a six-month pause in bilateral relations to ease tensions." He paused. "If anything, the Europeans are probably just waking up, and the Americans are still asleep."

basedcnt Owen ​

 

[Owen]

"This is primarily a National Security Committee of Cabinet to discuss an Australian security response. We have invited a few representatives with vested interests to join us to discuss more joint responses, but it is up to them to join or not. Primarily though this is about foreign nations with a vested interest having a liaison in the National Security Committee."

basedcnt

 

[Odinson]

Private​

While the Australians did not specify what the meeting was about, it was presumed in the Pentagon and the State Department that the meeting would be about the happenings in New Caledonia. Civilian authorities in the Pentagon and the State Department agreed to have Rear Admiral Brent Goodman, the Commander of The Office of Naval Intelligence, participate in the video conference via a secure uplink from the Pentagon. After a few minutes, the admiral joined securely and thanked his Australian counterparts for the invitation for the United States to participate in this cabinet meeting.

Owen

 

[ManBear]

Private and Encrypted
​

With the ongoing tensions escalating within New Caledonia and now the Australians summoning a meeting with the Polish, Americans, and Thai invited to witness the meeting, the Ministry of National Defense chose Wiceadmirał(Vice Admiral) Franciszek Gągor and the Minister of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Lew Kowalczyk to participate in the meeting via satellite uplink. Poland was unsure as to why they had been invited but could only assume it was related to the armed conflict between insurrectionists and Polish forces on New Caledonia. After a few minutes the two Poles would join in via the same satellite uplink, sharing a conference room within the Ministry of National Defense.

Owen basedcnt Bossza007 Odinson

 

[Owen]

With all representatives besides the French now in the meeting and all the Ministers having returned from their overseas visits the Deputy Prime Minister would begin chairing the meeting.

"Thank you everyone for attending." He would slide on his glasses.

"Currently, the situation in New Caledonia is evolving by the hour and deteriorating rapidly. Firstly may I offer my deepest condolences to the Polish Armed Forces on the loss of so far confirmed, twenty, of their servicemen. I acknowledge Vice Admiral Gagor and Minister Kowalczyk here today. We expect Poland to respond accordingly to this loss of life and they have the full support of the Australian Government.

Firstly, I think we can agree that the first priority for the Australian Government is the evacuation of foreign citizens from New Caledonia. The situation warrants that at this time and we are also looking at contingency plans to evacuate the Consulate-General in Noumea. I wish to reiterate the Australian Government's position on this matter and that is we reject all forms of violence to change political status quos. This uprising is completely unacceptable and whilst we are open to supporting any future referendum in New Caledonia on their status within France that cannot come about by political violence. I've instructed the Attorney-General to look at including the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front as a Designated Terrorist Organisation.

The first National Security Committee proposal I wish to propose to the members of the Committee is that Australia opens up necessary military and civilian ports to foreign forces to allow for the evacuation of their citizens and other provisions deemed necessary to operations in New Caledonia. All those in favour say aye."

All mandated attendees would agree with the proposal.

"General Cosgrove.." He would turn to the General.

"Thank you Deputy Prime Minister. We can certainly open RAAF Base Amberley outside of Brisbane to movements of all types of military aircraft as well as Brisbane International Airport to the movement of transport-only military aircraft. Norfolk Island Airport is also closer to New Caledonia but its runway is shorter and would not be able of handling large aircraft, only medium size and smaller. The runway is only 6,000 feet in length. It also doesn't have the facilities that Brisbane does, but it is there if absolutely necessary. In terms of seaports, HMAS Moreton in Brisbane is a small depot but there shouldn't be problems with docking in the larger Port of Brisbane, but there won't be military refueling or restocking facilities available, you will need to go to Fleet Base East in Sydney for that."

The Deputy Prime Minister would direct himself to the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister.

"Would it be possible to open up RNZAF Base Auckland and Davenport Naval Base to assist foreign forces in the evacuation of citizens from New Caledonia?

I may also note that we have not heard from the French Government and primarily this is a French internal matter. I'll reiterate that we will operate forces in New Caledonia to evacuate citizens or the Consulate-General with or without their prior approval. Their silence is deafening and they need to step up to the plate here, this situation requires a surge of French troops and Gendermarie onto the island and I just don't think that's going to come. We may be dealing with a potential failed state within New Caledonia.

Currently we have over 500 Australian citizens in New Caledonia and we do significantly lack air lift capabilities. We have small STOL aircraft to evacuate them but it will take several flights and we will need to make sure the airport is secure. We were hoping the United States, Thailand or Poland with a large air lift capability could assist with the evacuation. Can the Polish representative give any updates on the status of the airport?"

basedcnt Odinson ManBear Bossza007

 

[basedcnt]

"Yes, we are more than willing to allow ships from the United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Polish Navy, and Thai Navy - plus any contracted companies - to dock, refuel and resupply in Naval Base Devenport, and for any commercial, military transport or charter flights to land at RNZAF Base Auckland, but be aware that the 2 runways there are hardly larger than the one at Norfolk. Because of this, we suggest any aircraft fly into Auckland International Airport, which has a 11,000 foot runway."

Owen Odinson ManBear Bossza007

 

[Bossza007]

Chuan listened intently as the Australian and New Zealand representatives presented their positions. He nodded briefly to his counterparts from the United States and Poland, recalling a similar situation from two years prior. Then, a communication breakdown had almost led to a conflict between Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Poland.

When the Australian and New Zealand representatives concluded, Chuan asked to speak.

"Thailand appreciates the proactive stance taken by the Australian and New Zealand governments. However, as my counterparts from the United States and Poland will remember, we faced a similar situation two years ago. A lack of communication then resulted in a year-and-a-half-long tension between Thailand and the United States. We must learn from that and respect the sovereignty of France and the self-determination of the New Caledonian people. This revolt stems from the internal issues within the French Empire, and I trust the American representative agrees that there should be no external interference. France has only invited Thailand and Poland to assist, and we should adhere to international law.

Thailand has deployed a small carrier strike group near New Caledonia, which was passing through the Coral Sea, to monitor the situation. We are aware that all other countries, except the United States, plan to deploy forces. For the sake of transparency, I would like to know if my American colleague has any plans."

Owen basedcnt ManBear Odinson ​

 

[basedcnt]

After the Thai representative finished, the NZ representative asked to speak. He would say, "the NZDF will not deploy for this; instead the Ministry of Internal Defence and Police will detach a Police force to assist in any operations at Wellington International Airport, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Health is assembling a tent area to provide health services to any soldiers or refugees that enter New Zealand."

Owen ManBear Odinson Bossza007

 

[Owen]

"I definitely do not expect anybody to exert any external interference in New Caledonia, particularly in terms of supporting the revolt. If Thailand and Poland feel that it is necessary to support combat operations against the revolt on the request of the French Government than that is their right. Supporting the revolt would be taken as a more serious matter, as our goal here should be to minimise the violence and return New Caledonia to a more stable situation, not stoke the flames. I understand the frustrations of both the international community and citizens of New Caledonia towards the French Administration, but we cannot unilaterally change the governing status quo in New Caledonia through violence.

I should make it clear: our government will not be putting Australian troops in harms way to support the French in quelling the violence in New Caledonia. Our only goal here is to ensure the safety of our own citizens as well as other foreign citizens who are currently stuck on the island. If Poland and Thailand wish to support the French and start their own combat operations than that is their prerogative and we will offer an extent of logistical support such as the use of Australian military and civilian airports and seaports.

Having said that, we may need to deploy a small Australian force to the island to ensure the goals of evacuating citizens is met without issue. This would be Special Forces deployed to facilitate safe passage of aircraft movements. Once the evacuation is complete, they will leave."

Bossza007

 

[ManBear]

Minister of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Lew Kowalczyk would be the first to speak "I have a letter here from the French Government that I can show those who require it, specifically Sophie Dubois the Minister for European Foreign Affairs, that puts the Polish contingent on New Caledonia in charge of anti-insurgent and defensive activities. Also detailed in the letter is France's unilateral decision to not allow anymore foreign forces into New Caledonia, including regional powers such as our Australian hosts. We, however, are willing to allow ships into port to evacuate foreign nationals and civilians wishing to leave the conflict zone. Our combat-capable forces will be focusing entirely on combatting this new threat until reinforcements arrive from the Flotilla that was stationed near Singapore. We would not be opposed to utilizing airfields in New Zealand and Australia to ferry new combat troops and vehicles into the theater of war."

Wiceadmiral Franciszek Gągor would be the next to speak. "While there are only roughly fifty combat-trained forces on the ground currently, we are expecting another four hundred to arrive in a few days via the Flotilla. These forces, however are not set up for ground combat and will be lacking ground vehicles. I would like to request the use of a port that our Lublin-class Landing ship can take on combat vehicles and soldiers flown into airports. We would also like to formally request that Thai forces retreat from the island for the time being as their classification of unarmed humanitarians put them at extreme risk from the insurgents. We have reports of at least one soldier being taken captive, stripped over the clothing and possible experiencing torture before they were executed. In the terms of the autopsy, the soldier's cause of death was asphyxiation due to fluid in the lungs and exsanguination from lacerations to both carotid arteries. In layman's terms, they watched a human being drown on his own blood before stealing his uniform and attempted to drive a VBIED into the main base of our forces there. While we will attempt to bring these terrorists to justice via the court system, there is a consensus amongst the Ministry of National Defense that they will not do so willingly. It is also our belief based on this occurrence that they will attempt to infiltrate evacuating groups to sow havoc abroad as well."

Owen Odinson Bossza007 basedcnt

 

[Owen]

"We would be more than willing to have the Polish Air Force land at Brisbane International Airport, which is next to the Port of Brisbane and then allow for the loading of combat vehicles onto ships at the Port of Brisbane facilitated by members of HMAS Moreton. Considering there are only 50 Polish forces in New Caledonia at the moment, I must ask if it is wise to begin combat operations with such a small force? I would ask that the Polish force current there contribute to ensuring the safe passage of evacuating foreign citizens before any combat operations begin.

We fully accept Poland's role as stipulated by the letter with the French Government. Considering the immense loss of life by the Polish Armed Forces, they are fully within their rights to respond how they wish within the confines of international law.

Do you have any update on the situation at La Tantouta Airport? If we cannot get a safe passage out of the airport, we may need to reassess and move towards evacuating citizens onboard Royal Australian Navy vessels."

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

The Wiceadmiral would be the one to respond to the Australian question. "La Tantouta Airport and Noumea Magenta Airport are currently considered under the control of insurgent forces. They took the airports in the night while Polish forces attempted to regroup. As for the state of the airport, there have been several reports of a passenger jet being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during the attack but there have been zero reports of casualties forthcoming. As for evacuation via ship, we feel that would be the best case scenario for evacuations. The main port has been all but destroyed by a targeting attack by insurgent forces rendering it inoperable however, the use of the Cruise liner terminal as the base of operations for Polish forces seemed to work out for us in the long run. It would most likely be the best case to begin evacuations via ship until the airport has been retaken.

As for the state of combat forces on New Caledonia, the forces there are highly trained forces trained in counterinsurgency tactics. While they are small in numbers, it was one of those men who saved the base from being attacked by the VBIED during a routine traffic check at the gates to the base. We can begin ensuring the safe passage of civilians through the cruise terminal to waiting vessels however our chief concern is infiltration by insurgent forces during this process and allowing an attack to occur within the base's perimeter. Therefore we would recommend the use of Numbo Port for the evacuation of civilians. We have limited reports of conflict within that region and feel it would be safer for evacuation forces to utilize that port instead of a port that has already come under fire once during the opening stages of the insurrection.

Furthermore, there are several smaller airports around the island that should be able to service smaller aircraft such as Aerodrome de Canala, Kone Airport, Touho Airport, and Koumac Airport. There are of course small dirt runway airports that should be serviceable but we do not recommend these. As for providing security, we have Royal Navy Security Forces providing security for the main base of operations and they are being assigned to patrol squads alongside our combat-capable force in the region. They number some two hundred and fifty armed personnel that have basic combat training but they are predominately security personnel for ship and base security as well as for the outposts. None of them would have seem combat outside of what happened in New Caledonia."

Owen