Caption: Australian and New Zealand soldiers conduct a Vehicle Check Point (VCP) near Hera, a few kilometres east of Dili. The VCP was setup to search an estimated 3000 protesters from the countries east before they entered Dili.

Deep Caption: Operation Astute is the Australian Government's response to assist the Government of Timor Leste. The Joint Task Force is providing security and stability, has facilitated the evacuation of Australian and other approved foreign nationals, and is creating a secure environment for the conduct of successful dialogue to resolve the current crisis.

Approximately 2600 Australian Defence Force personnel are directly supporting the Australian Defence Force Response to the situation in Dili.

The Operation includes components from the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force, working with other Australian Government agencies and elements from the New Zealand and Malaysian Defence Forces, as well as an arm of the Portuguese Police, the GNR, to assist the Government of Timor Leste to restore peace.