Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010730/1/19vz28.html Monday July 30, 5:47 PM US outlines strategic alliances for Asia-Pacific region CANBERRA, July 30 (AFP) - Australia, South Korea and Japan are regarded as Washington's key strategic partners, senior officials from new US President George W. Bush's administration said Monday. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters that the United States was committed to maintaining its military and diplomatic presence in the region. "The United States is a Pacific nation, has been a Pacific nation and will remain engaged in this region politically, diplomatically and with the presence of our military forces, let there be no doubt about that," Powell said. However, while neither side advocated formalising closer security ties between the United States and Australia, South Korea and Japan, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer admitted the issue had been discussed. Although both sides emphasised the closeness of the bilateral relationship, Powell dismissed any suggestion that Australia was Washington's "deputy sherrif" in the region as "nonsense". The annual Australia-US Ministerial (Ausmin) summit also resulted in a commitment from Washington to support Australia's role in helping the United Nations shepherd East Timor towards full independence. Rumsfeld said that the Bush administration was focusing its key diplomatic, economic and defence ties around the three nations it considered its oldest allies in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, South Korea and Japan. Downer said suggestions that Canberra, Seoul and Tokyo also develop more formal security ties had surfaced during the talks, but there was no support for "replicating" the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). "This is something we have discussed. We have informally discussed it with the Japanese as well," Downer said. Rumsfeld said both Washington and Canberra were also in accord on the need to maintain a dialogue with the Indonesian military whilst urging an end to human rights abuses in rebellious provinces such as Aceh and Irian Jaya. "I think the position of the US in respect to Indonesia is identical to that of Australia," Rumsfeld said. The United States and Australia severed the bulk of their military ties with Jakarta after Indonesian troops were implicated in bloody attempts to crush the independence movement in East Timor in 1999. Australia led a UN-sanctioned peacekeeping force into the territory in September that year, heavily backed by US military logistical support. Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Powell told commercial television here the US Congress would reassess Washington's restrictions on US military assistance to Jakarta if it could be satisfied human rights abuses by the Indonesian military had been curbed. "Our Congress has in place certain restrictions on what we can do with the Indonesians, so we will approach the new Indonesian government with an attitude of helpfulness but with also an attitude of caution," Powell said. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
