Australia signed a peace treaty with its Southeast Asian neighbors yesterday and rejected what it called puerile comments about it being the US' deputy sheriff in the region.
"I think even you could move beyond the puerile allegations of deputy sheriff," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer snapped at a reporter when asked about the role often ascribed to Australia as a proxy for Washington in the region.
Downer was speaking at a news conference in the Malaysian capital moments before he signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which calls for signatories not to interfere in each other's internal affairs.
The treaty was born within the 10-member ASEAN, which made signing the pact a condition for entry into next week's inaugural East Asian summit.
Australia hesitated to sign the treaty, saying it might conflict with its existing security arrangements with the US, but reconsidered when it became clear that Canberra would not be invited to the summit without its signature.
"Being part of the East Asia summit, that's a quid pro quo we are happy to live with," Downer said, adding that Australia had received guarantees from ASEAN that its signature on the treaty would not disturb its existing treaty arrangements.
Australia's entry into the East Asia summit, along with ASEAN states and Japan, China, South Korea, India and New Zealand, follows the 2003 retirement of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who opposed its membership in Asian forum.
Mahathir routinely calls Australia the deputy sheriff of Washington in Asia. Last Wednesday he said that he felt the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand had subverted the development of a genuinely Asian forum.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's administration, however, has struck a much more welcoming tone.
"I think the fact that they have subscribed to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation shows that geopolitically and geoeconomically they want to be part of this region and to participate and contribute. We welcome this," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters yesterday.
Russia also moved closer to getting full membership in the East Asia Summit yesterday by signing an economic cooperation accord.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed the pact as progress in creating substantive relations with the ASEAN.
Russia was refused full membership at next week's inaugural East Asia Summit because ASEAN was split over its application.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
"China, a developing country, will keep to its peaceful influence. China is insisting on a path of peaceful development," he said.
"We will not be threatening or replacing anyone," he told reporters. "We'll help as much as possible to establish a harmonious world. In that way, everyone is happy."
Li dismissed fears that China was harboring ambitions to be dominant in the region, replacing the influence of the US and Japan.
"We have lots of issues at home. We are focusing... on improving the living of the 1.3 billion Chinese people," Li said.
"We want to see peace across the world so we can focus our energy on developing our economy," he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique