Kiwis to fore in risky landing

By Eugene Bingham

Highly trained soldiers of the SAS are likely to be among the first wave of an Anzac force landing in East Timor with instructions to "take out" anyone acting suspiciously.

About 40 Special Air Service troops flew to Darwin yesterday to join an advance force of New Zealanders and Australians set to arrive in the territory as early as tomorrow.

Their role will be to pave the way for the multinational operation and regain control from the militiamen who have run riot since the United Nations-supervised independence ballot.

Details of the mission have been kept secret, but senior ministers were blunt yesterday about the possibility of the landing force meeting resistance from the militias.

Sources say the soldiers have permission to shoot anyone acting in a hostile manner.

The SAS force, which left Auckland yesterday, is part of an initial contingent of 420 New Zealanders.

An infantry company, 25 armoured personnel carriers and four Iroquois helicopters, with associated staff, may leave for Darwin as early as tomorrow.

Once in Darwin, the New Zealanders will be under the command of Major General Peter Cosgrove, the Australian officer in charge of the UN-sanctioned force. Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Burnett will be the most senior New Zealander.

The frigate Te Kaha is on standby in Darwin, but it has duties in the Persian Gulf and will be replaced by the HMNZS Canterbury and the tanker ship Endeavour.

The Canterbury is refuelling in Auckland before its expected departure today. With Australian and British ships, it will provide back-up and protect vessels carrying troops between Australia and East Timor.

The ships are committed for only three months, but the soldiers may stay for 18 months. In that case, two groups would do nine-month tours of duty.

The Minister of Defence, Max Bradford, said the contingent had been preparing for months.

"It's not simply flicking a switch and saying, 'We're off to East Timor.'"

The APCs had been re-armoured and refurbished, he said.

The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, was also confident about the state of preparedness.

"People can be assured that the equipment we are making available is ready for the field," she said.

But Dr David Dickens, director of Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies, had some concerns about the equipment.

"We put up excellent, well-trained people, but the equipment is old and that forces limitations on the New Zealand operation," he said.

"There will be challenges to sustaining a large-scale operation."