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Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Australia's strike bid alarms Asian nations
MANILA -- Government and military officials here expressed alarm and derision at Australia's suggestion that it be allowed to launch pre-emptive strikes on terrorists in Asian countries, warning that it would harm joint efforts to combat terror.
Other Asian nations slammed "arrogant" Australia following threats of pre-emptive strikes by Prime Minister John Howard against foreign-based terrorists to prevent an attack on his country.
Foreign Secretary Blas Ople described the remarks by Australian Prime Minister John Howard as "very hasty, exuberant, and somewhat bizarre," while National Security Adviser Roilo Golez dismissed them as "arrogant".
"I don't think he will get any support from neighboring countries," Foreign Undersecretary Lauro Baja said.
"Australia is not the US," he said. "There are more effective and considerate measures to combat terrorism, and unilateral action is not one of them."
Filipino legislators also derided Howard, saying he should not be acting like "Crocodile Dundee," referring to the comedy film about an Australian crocodile hunter.
The Philippines joined Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand in condemning Howard's weekend comments, saying Australia must respect other nations' sovereignty.
'Shocking'
Golez said the statement was "bordering on shocking."
"I can't believe that it would come from a supposed friendly country in the neighborhood. You are talking about a region with very strong government, the Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," Golez told Australia's ABC radio.
"This is the 21st century, not the 19th century."
Howard made the comments on Sunday when asked if he would be prepared to act if he knew terrorists in a neighboring country were planning to attack Australia.
"It stands to reason that if you believe that somebody was going to launch an attack on your country, either of a conventional kind or a terrorist kind, and you had a capacity to stop it and there was no alternative other than to use that capacity, then of course you would have to use it," he said during a television interview.
Golez later told reporters he would recommend Manila re-evaluate a proposed anti-terrorism agreement with Canberra.
"You know this (Howard's statement) to me is quite arrogant and because of this I have recommended that we review and go slow on the proposed anti-terror pact with Australia because they might use this for their pre-emptive strike agenda," he stressed.
'Too much'
Before flying off to Japan, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Arroyo government was not even near supporting an attack on an Asian nation to prevent a terror assault.
Australia should instead share intelligence information of a possible terrorist assault with the country concerned and let local authorities handle the matter, pointed out Bunye.
Ople said Howard's proposal undermined UN principles.
"We can't sacrifice fundamental principles of the United Nations, which is the sovereignty of member nations big or small. The proposal will undermine this foundation," Ople said.
Howard's remarks were "too much," said Armed Forces chief of staff General Dionisio Santiago.
"I don't think that is good for the country. The intelligence communities (of both countries) can maybe coordinate, but to operate, that is out of bounds," he added.
"He is not a Crocodile Dundee who can treat the whole of Asia as an extension of the Australian outback," Senator Ralph Recto said. "No country will ever issue a hunting permit to Australian forces. Asia is not a place where Howard can go on a safari."
Clarification
President Arroyo's spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Manila would seek a clarification of Howard's statement, which came after Australia, Canada and Israel closed their embassies in the Philippines last week in response to "specific" terrorist threats.
Ople revealed that Howard and Arroyo have held preliminary discussions on the proposed bilateral terrorism agreement.
"We are open to a bilateral agreement covering cooperation in fighting terrorism," he said, but stressed: "We're not contemplating anything as drastic as what Prime Minister Howard is proposing."
Ople said Manila was examining the Australian draft "very closely."
"Originally, the draft was going to be signed last November 20-22, but it was reset to January because of scheduling conflicts," he added.
Canberra has signed similar pacts with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, he added.
Unacceptable
Indonesia, where at least 82 Australians were among more than 190 people killed in the Bali bombing on October 12, said Howard's comments were "unacceptable".
"Howard should not issue statements that would make another country uncomfortable," Vice President Hamzah Haz said.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said he believed Howard's statement was part of a discourse and not a concrete plan of action.
"But if you ask what is Indonesia's position on this discourse of Prime Minister Howard, I say that such a discourse is unacceptable," the minister said.
The Thai government said no country should follow suggested course of action. Each country had its own sovereignty that must be protected, a government spokesman told ABC.
Malaysia's Defence Minister Najib Razak said Kuala Lumpur would not allow foreign intervention in its fight against terrorism.
"We are not going to give any approval to any country to launch any form of counter-terrorism activities in Malaysia. That's very clear," Najib told the official Bernama news agency. AFP/Sunnex |
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