I warmly welcome the decision by the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr Kofi Annan, to appoint General de los Santos of the Philippines as commander
of the UN peacekeeping operation in East Timor.
The peacekeepers will replace the Australian-led multinational force, INTERFET,
which has largely restored peace and security in East Timor under the outstanding
leadership of Major-General Peter Cosgrove.
Australia will continue to play a major role. I am very pleased that Australia
has been asked to provide a deputy commander to General de los Santos. Major-General
Mike Smith has been chosen to fill this position.
Australia's troop commitment to East Timor will fall with the changeover
from INTERFET to the peacekeeping operation. But our contribution will remain
significant.
Our contribution will involve more than 1500 soldiers, including a battalion
group, headquarters staff and a medical element. We have also offered 400
soldiers in a logistics team to help with the transition from INTERFET to
the UN force.
We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the United Nations
and all those working in East Timor.