M'sia to address Howard's strike threat at Asean security forum
Malaysia would address Australian Prime Minister John Howard's threat of preemptive anti-terror strikes on neighbouring nations at an upcoming Asean regional forum, a senior minister said today.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia would open the subject for discussion at the July 2003 meeting to be held in Cambodia as it concerned the rights and sovereignty of Asian Pacific nations, many of whom are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
"Australia's statement does not contribute to security in the region and that is why there is so much objection to it," the foreign minister told reporters.
Howard said earlier this month that he would not hesitate to order a pre-emptive strike on any neighbour found to house terrorists planning an attack against Australia - a statement that also produced angry reactions from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The three nations all contain radical Islamic elements that have been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Despite US President George W Bush's support for Howard's statement on the right to preemptive strikes, Syed Hamid said: "We are against the concept of trying to go after terrorists in another country. It is wrong and it can be considered as an act of war."
Malaysia would address Australian Prime Minister John Howard's threat of preemptive anti-terror strikes on neighbouring nations at an upcoming Asean regional forum, a senior minister said today.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia would open the subject for discussion at the July 2003 meeting to be held in Cambodia as it concerned the rights and sovereignty of Asian Pacific nations, many of whom are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
"Australia's statement does not contribute to security in the region and that is why there is so much objection to it," the foreign minister told reporters.
Howard said earlier this month that he would not hesitate to order a pre-emptive strike on any neighbour found to house terrorists planning an attack against Australia - a statement that also produced angry reactions from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The three nations all contain radical Islamic elements that have been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Despite US President George W Bush's support for Howard's statement on the right to preemptive strikes, Syed Hamid said: "We are against the concept of trying to go after terrorists in another country. It is wrong and it can be considered as an act of war."
Shouldn't lose sight
Other Asean nations had strong negative reactions to Howard's statement, but one diplomat told AFP that the on-going "war of words" should not overshadow regional cooperation to fight terrorism.
"At the end of the day, we should not lose sight of our main focus to combat terrorism. That should be the issue," he said on condition of anonymity.
Asked if regional countries would support Malaysia's move to discuss the issue, he said Kuala Lumpur would have to do "a lot of ground work" to build a consensus before broaching the remark at the forum.
"The issue, however, may blow over by July next year," he said. "Some countries in Asean are not happy but they may prefer to seek clarifications from Australia bilaterally."
The ARF is a "10 plus three," which will continue security dialogue among the 10 Asean members - Burma. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - plus China, Japan and South Korea.
Malaysia has threatened to pull out of a counter-terrorism deal it signed with Australia in August, which provides for increased sharing of intelligence. AFP
