Prime Minister John Howard has pledged Australia will stay the course, but any escalation in the ongoing conflict between rebels in Aceh and the TNI – the Indonesian military – could put our people in the province in a difficult and dangerous position.

One Indonesian soldier has already been killed, and another wounded, in renewed attacks by Acehanese rebels.

Defence Minister Robert Hill joins me to discuss the situation. Good morning, Senator Hill.

The Prime Minister says that we’re not going to be taking sides in Aceh, but by using the TNI as our protection, aren’t we going to be seen to be taking sides, immediately?

Well we – what he’s saying, I think, is we’re not involved in the long, the ongoing conflict in Aceh. We support the sovereignty of Indonesia, and in this humanitarian mission we are relying on being protected by Indonesian authorities. And we think that that’s the appropriate way, appropriate protection in the circumstance of this type of mission.

Minister, given that the death of this Indonesian soldier, and the fact that aid workers have also reported being shot at, how dangerous is the situation for our people in Aceh?

Well it’s not without risk. There is this ongoing conflict. Each – both sides have said that they have suspended the use of weapons at the moment, but there is the chance of clashes …

Well not the chance of clashes, we’ve actually seen clashes and gun fire.

There are reports of clashes. There’s the different explanations of the soldier – the two soldiers; one got killed, and one got injured, and they were tended by Australian humanitarian forces.

So, there’s no specific threat against Australia. There is the chance of, sort of, unfortunately becoming incidentally involved in a clash. There’s also the chance of criminal activity. There’s also the chance of being involved in some form of Islamist difficulty.

But, these security issues we’re monitoring very closely, and at the moment we’re satisfied with the protection that’s being offered to us by the Indonesian authorities.

Are you comfortable with the Australian medical staff treating bullet wounds in Indonesian army officers, or Indonesian army personnel?

Australian medical staff would treat any individual who’s wounded. Yesterday we helped the Americans when they had a helicopter collapse – crash. Over the weekend we tended an Indonesian soldier who had been shot.

That’s how our people respond to the situations where they find somebody whose life is in danger.

You said that Australians aren’t specifically being targeted but there’s reports in The Australian newspaper today saying that Islamic groups are reportedly targeting Australia’s presence in Aceh. Couldn’t our commitment there in fact inflame local violence, if that’s the case?

No, I said that there is the concern about Islamist groups and we must take that seriously because, whilst it would seem almost inconceivable to us that a terrorist arm of such a group would take the opportunity of such a disaster to inflict another message, nevertheless there have been inconceivable things happen around the world in recent years. So we have to watch that carefully.

But as I said, there’s no specific threat to Australian troops or aid workers. We are in an environment that is not without risk. We need to watch it carefully, monitor it carefully, and therefore offer the best advice to our forces and to aid workers.

And the current situation is we’re satisfied with the force protection that’s being given to us by the Indonesian authorities.

Indeed we have seen the unthinkable in Iraq where aid workers have been specifically targeted. Why wouldn’t you expect that to happen in Aceh?

Well you don’t expect it to happen anyway. What I said it may seem inconceivable but recent history has meant that you don’t disregard the possibility. And therefore, as I said, we monitor that issue carefully as well but we are satisfied in the circumstance of this humanitarian mission that the force protection being offered by Indonesian authorities is adequate.

What would Australian troops do if they’re fired on by Acehenese rebels, given that they’re not armed?

Well what do you what would they do?

Well how will they respond? I mean we’d be looking to TNI to respond for them?

Well the Indonesian Government, Indonesian authorities are hugely grateful for the international effort that’s being – that has been proffered to their country in circumstances of this disaster. And that has been led by the military forces of a whole range of different countries because they can get in there earlier. They’ve got the transport. They’ve got the experience of these situations.

Indonesia has a great vested interest in getting the best aid and the fastest aid that it possibly can. And it’s offering force protection to enable that to take place. And therefore its military and its leadership has a vested interest in ensuring the success of this humanitarian mission.

As you know, the TNI has long been accused of human rights abuses in Aceh. What would Australian troops do if they witnessed TNI soldiers doing inappropriate things, committing human rights violations?

Well they would obviously report that and it would be pursued at the political level. But we are not expecting that to occur. It is true that there have been difficulties in the past but you should also take into account the TNI, from an Indonesian perspective, has been heading the rescue effort and the clean-up effort. It’s been a most unpleasant task for them because they have in effect taken on the most unpleasant aspects of the whole business, and they’ve actually done an excellent job.

Have you got complete confidence in the TNI to do the right thing though? We heard reports on PM last night of TNI soldiers selling aid, selling food to people that needed it.

We’ve – I’ve got complete confidence in the political leadership. I met with the Indonesian Defence Minister again on Saturday. I’ve actually got good confidence in the leadership of TNI. But it’s a huge organisation and there’s always the chance that somebody within it, even in this circumstance, will behave inappropriately. But the Indonesian leadership is conscious of that as well.

Overall, as I said, they’ve done a great job for their people and for their country. So I would judge them at the moment on the contribution that they are making to the humanitarian effort, rather than the historical circumstance.

Do you think there might be a situation where we’re forced to pull out because of violence in Aceh?

Well it’s not there at the moment. At the moment all interests are focused on the humanitarian challenge and the clean-up challenge. And, as I said, there have been reports before Saturday’s incident, which was a fact in that we know two soldiers were shot. Before that there had been reports of some clashes well away from the aid area.

So these circumstances will need to be monitored and I want to stress that. We are monitoring that closely with all of the – with TNI and the Indonesian Police and other Indonesian authorities but also with all of the other countries contributing aid. We all have a vested interest in doing this job effectively and safely. So if the circumstances change, you obviously look at the new circumstance. But at the moment the focus is on the aid effort. It’s going very well. It’s a difficult task. It’s not without risk but we’re satisfied with the force protection that’s being given to us.

Senator Robert Hill, thank you very much for joining us on Radio National this morning.

Thank you.

Senator Robert Hill, Minister for Defence on ABC Radio National.