21 September 1999
International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was an Australian-led humanitarian and peacemaking deployment taskforce. It ran from September 1999 to February 2000. INTERFET was to restore a peaceful and secure environment. This was after pro-Indonesia militias had reacted violently to the mid-1999 referendum.
The referendum supported East Timorese independence from Indonesia. INTERFET was an international coalition response, but mostly comprised Australian personnel. This was otherwise known as Operation Stabilise.
In mid-September, the combined Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) task group sailed for Dili. Task group commander HMAS Adelaide was accompanied by:
- HMAS Anzac
- HMAS Success
- HMAS Tobruk
- HMAS Balikpapan
- HMAS Brunei
- HMAS Labuan
- HMNZS Te Kaha
- HMS Glasgow
- USS Mobile Bay.
On 21 September, INTERFET ships arrived in Dili. The rapid delivery of troops and equipment in the early days of operation had a strong influence on the Timorese and the Indonesians. This was under the watchful protection of coalition warships patrolling Dili.
The INTERFET commander, Major-General Peter Cosgrove, later commented on the ‘persuasive, intimidatory or deterrent nature of major warships … [as] an important indicator of national and international resolve and most reassuring to all of us who relied on sea lifelines’. Some coalition commanders argued the presence of so many warships prevented military threats to the taskforce from becoming anything more than just threats.
From October 1999, the military threat to coalition forces had reduced. This caused a shift in focus towards nation-building operations. In February 2000, INTERFET finished operations. They handed operational authority over to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The RAN and Australian Defence Force continued to provide support under this new banner.
In addition, the critical mass of troops required to establish successful conditions for nation-building projects could only be achieved with the sealift provided by the ships. The catamaran HMAS Jervis Bay transferred troops and equipment between Dili and Darwin. It averaged three trips a week. Sea transport provided around 90 per cent of the lift capacity for INTERFET.
By the end of April 2000, Jervis Bay had transferred:
- 14,400 passengers
- 497 vehicles
- 3,200 tonnes of stores.
INTERFET was one of the Australian Defence Force’s biggest challenges since the Second World War. The Navy’s participation demonstrated the deterrent power of warships. The military and political value of these warships gave taskforce commanders a physical and psychological, advantage. It also demonstrated the importance of sea transport in mounting large-scale expeditionary operations.