Australia's government yesterday reassured its Asian neighbors that suggestions of pre-emptive strikes against overseas extremist bases would not target its partners in the war against terror.
However, opposition leaders accused Prime Minister John Howard of sending mixed signals with the softened tone, saying his "hairy-chested" comments Monday were geared towards winning votes in the Oct. 9 general election.
Some analysts also said they appeared to be electioneering.
National security has become a top campaign issue after Australia's embassy in Jakarta was bombed earlier this month. With Howard's hawkish image, the blast had been widely expected to favor the conservative government. However, a new poll yesterday showed the opposition Labor Party had opened up an election-winning lead.
Trying to allay regional concerns after Malaysia took exception to Howard's statement Monday that he would not hesitate to launch a unilateral strike, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer specifically ruled out any such attacks on Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia or Singapore.
If needed, he said, they would target "failed states" that were unable to police themselves, citing the Solomon Islands.
"Of course we haven't any intention of sending troops into Indonesia without the approval of Indonesia," Downer told national radio. "Now in the case of Indonesia, or Malaysia or Singapore or the Philippines, these are countries which are our partners in the war against terrorism.
"But imagine a situation -- it's not likely to be Indonesia or a country which has a strong counter-terrorism capability but a failed state in the South Pacific, as the Solomons once was and is not now -- and terrorists were about to attack and the country involved either didn't want to, or in their case, couldn't do anything to stop it.
"We would have to go and do it ourselves."
Australia last year led international intervention in the Solomon Islands to restore law and order after years of militia violence.
Howard denied that he was sending mixed messages but said he did not think a pre-emptive strike would be needed.
"I don't expect any of this to arise, but I don't want any Australians to be in any doubt as to where I stand on this issue," he said. "And I think sensible people will understand it."
Security analyst John Bruni said it was clear that any attack on Indonesia, widely considered the most logical target of any pre-emptive strike by Australia, could conceivably lead to war.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, would allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as Feb. 6. The immense orange and white SLS rocket, and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved 6.5km to Launch Pad 39B. If the
RSS