Roger Maynard, Sydney – Australian troops in the multi-national peacekeeping force which was sent to East Timor 18 months ago were too aggressive, often impossible to comprehend and annoyed other soldiers by wearing dark sunglasses while on duty, a survey has found.

The occasionally damning report of the Australian military's behaviour since it arrived in the former Indonesian province paints a picture of a fiercely Australia-centric force which annoyed soldiers from other countries with an "overt display of firepower" and insensitivity to the cultural norms of men from other nations.

While acknowledging the success of the Australia-led mission, the report, by Dr Alan Ryan, a research fellow at the Land Warfare Studies Centre in Canberra, reveals a diversity of views and tensions within the multi-national force and a wide variety of teething problems.

Fast-talking Australian officers left many Asian troops – even those with a good command of English – often confused about their role and what they were supposed to do.

But language problems were only the tip of iceberg. And it wasn't only the Asians who were annoyed. Even the English-speaking New Zealanders, Australia's closest allies, found the Diggers a bit too much, particularly when it came to the way they dominated the proceedings.

"Ninety per cent of the time I thought, you've done marvellously well, and then 10 per cent of the time I got really frustrated with the Australia-centric view," Lieutenant Colonel Mark Wheeler, from New Zealand, told the survey.

"Everyone knows that this is Australian-led and you don't need to reinforce that," Colonel Wheeler said.

The Australians were also accused of being unnecessarily aggressive. Thai soldiers said they were unhappy with the overt display of firepower, the use of armoured personnel carriers and troops carrying weapons loaded and ready to fire.

Dr Ryan said the Thais were also upset at the use of dark sunglasses by Australian troops when they were on duty. "Their own cultural norms dictated that when working with people it was important to show eye contact," he explained.