Fed: Pre-emption the problem for Aust's role in Asia: Labor

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2005
Fed: Pre-emption the problem for Aust's role in Asia: Labor

CANBERRA, April 10 AAP - The federal government's policy of regional military pre-emption
remains a key sticking point to Australia becoming more engaged with Asia, Labor says.

Malaysia is hosting the important East Asia summit later this year but its prime minister,
Abdullah Badawi, declined to issue an invitation to Australia during a meeting with Prime
Minister John Howard last week.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd told the Nine Network today that Australia
should be at the meeting.

"It's important that Australia have a place at the table when it comes to the upcoming
East Asian summit, and the subsequent East Asian Economic Community," he said.

"(But) there are aspects of Howard government policy lying in the road of that.

"(The policy of regional military pre-emption) has been a sticking point in making
good Australian progress to being included in this important piece of emerging regional
architecture."

Mr Howard raised the prospect of Australia taking pre-emptive action against terrorists
in neighbouring countries during the election campaign last year.

But he stressed it would only ever be used as an absolute last resort.

Apart from the pre-emption policy, Mr Rudd said another concern for Asian nations was
Australia's refusal to sign the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation, an important non-aggression
pact in the region.

"Across the region there were still general concerns about Australia on a few questions,
namely the friendship treaty ... but also this whole question of the Howard doctrine of
military pre-emption," Mr Rudd said.

"The challenge for Australian foreign policy is to get beyond that and ensure that
Australia is part of a key emerging element of our regional economic and potential security
policy architecture."

Mr Rudd rejected claims the opposition only had negative comments to make about the
government's engagement with Asia, failing to give any credit for improvement in Australia's
relationship with the region.

"We in the opposition want to work on a bipartisan basis with the Australian government
in ensuring that the membership of the first East Asian summit and subsequent East Asian
community includes us," he said.

"We've been as constructive about that as possible and we're going to have discussions
with our friends and partners in the region on that.

"But if you expect us to go out and characterise everything as tickety-boo when it
comes to regional reactions to some of the things John Howard has done over the last nine
years (we're not going to)."

AAP so/it/sd

KEYWORD: MALAYSIA AUST RUDD

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