BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- Indonesia's military has sent three dozen British-made Scorpion tanks to rebellious Aceh to guard roads in a move being closely watched by London, which has sold such weaponry on condition it not be used offensively.

Indonesia is in the middle of its biggest ever offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has sought independence since 1976, after last-ditch peace talks collapsed in May, Reuters reported.

The 36 tanks arrived in the western province on Sunday, military officials said. The military has already used British-made Hawk fighter jets here.

In London, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said any military equipment sold to Indonesia was on the basis it would not be used offensively or in violation of human rights.

"The deployment of Scorpion tanks per se is not necessarily in violation of any assurances, but it is a question of how they use those tanks. We are monitoring the situation," the office said. When asked about the deployment of the tanks, Aceh military spokesman Colonel Ditya Sudarsono told Reuters: "Maybe later the British foreign minister will have a fit. But is it wrong if we use the tanks to save the people? Those whom we're going to wipe out are those who are conducting intimidation, extortion and murder not only on the little people. So, the ones we kill are not part of the people."

British officials have raised the issue of the jets with Jakarta. However, Jakarta has insisted there has been no breach because the jets were not used for bombing but for surveillance.

The United Kingdom is a major investor in Indonesia. Some 300 people have been killed since the Aceh military offensive began on May 19. More than 10,000 people, mainly civilians, have died in the conflict since 1976.

Resource-rich Aceh is one of two major separatist hot spots in Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. The other is in Papua province at the eastern end of the country.

Aceh military operational commander Brigadier General Bambang Dharmono said tanks would be deployed with troops guarding roads.

"Their job will be to safeguard transportation routes, especially those used for the distribution of economic goods needed by the people," Dharmono told reporters late on Sunday. "If there are any GAM brave enough to disturb the route that we secure, we will wipe them out."

GAM has demanded independence instead of the special autonomy Jakarta has offered the oil-and-gas-rich province.