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Asia needs better effort on terror: Armitage
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Asian nations need to make a better effort to police themselves and get rid of terrorists, senior White House official Richard Armitage has said during a tour of the region. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Australian Financial Review newspaper that threats of pre-emptive strikes by Australia into other nations to combat terrorism were a "wake-up call" to do better. Armitage, the U.S.'s second-most senior diplomat, is currently on a four-nation tour of Asia to rally support for Washington's stance on Iraq. Comments by Australian Prime Minister John Howard last week that Australia would consider a pre-emptive strike on another nation's soil to protect itself from terrorism drew strong condemnation from Southeast Asian neighbors Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. But the position was quickly backed up by the Bush administration at the time and that stance has been reiterated by Armitage. "I very much appreciate and support the prime minister's statement," Armitage told the national daily ahead of his trip to South Korea, Japan, China and Australia. "For someone to talk about pre-empting danger is a statement of the obvious," he is reported saying. "It was also a wake-up call to some neighbors that they need to better police themselves and rid themselves of the scourge of terrorism. "The real message is that they have to make the utmost efforts to police themselves, because then there is no need for anyone to pre-empt any threats." Australia has been one of the U.S.'s staunchest allies in the war on terror and the action against Iraq. But critics suggest this close alignment to the U.S. increases Australia's vulnerability to future terrorist attacks, particularly from Southeast Asian based militants. Disarming IraqArmitage on Monday kicked off his tour in Tokyo by saying U.S. President George W. Bush was willing to be patient with Iraq but warned that if Baghdad did not disarm itself, it "would eventually be disarmed." Armitage told reporters he had conveyed a message to Japanese officials that Bush had not made any decision to attack. "President Bush has made no such determination as yet. We and hopefully the international community will keep the pressure on," Armitage said Monday. Armitage is also expected to press Japan, South Korea and China on the issue and challenge of North Korea, which has admitted it is still running a nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang's shock admission in October has set back efforts at normalizing relations with North Korea both from within the region and with the U.S. Labeled in January as part of President Bush's "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran, North Korea -- unlike Iraq -- has not been threatened with force to give up its nuclear weapons program and allow international weapons inspectors into the communist country. Instead, the U.S. has been utilizing its diplomatic channels and has preferred Japan and China -- the North's traditional ally -- to take the more active role in negotiations. AlliesArmitage faces a difficult charge during this Asian trip. Australia has remained one of Washington's strongest allies, and although Canberra is yet to commit to joining any U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, it is expected to toe the White House line. But Japan, China and South Korea all pose some challenges. Opposition lawmakers in Japan have hit out at the government's recent dispatching of an Aegis destroyer to the Indian Ocean to provide protection for U.S. naval ships. They say the move was a clear sign that Tokyo supported military action against Iraq and violated United Nations efforts to resolve the crisis diplomatically. Japan's support is also limited to a non-combat role because of its pacifist constitution. Though it passed a law enabling it to deploy ships to assist the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, officials say it will be hard to apply that legislation to a role in an invasion of Iraq. Anti-U.S.But the more pressing issue for Japan will be the denuclearization of North Korea -- a subject on which Tokyo will undoubtedly press Armitage. North Korea will also be likely to be at the forefront during talks with South Korean officials, but overshadowing the meet is a peaking anti-U.S. sentiment among the public. South Korea has been hit by a wave of angry anti-American protests after two U.S. servicemen were acquitted of crushing two girls to death in June with a military vehicle. China, meanwhile, has reiterated that it favors a political and diplomatic resolution to the Iraqi crisis. A key member of the U.N. Security Council, China has made it clear it is averse to military action, with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji warning that an attack on Iraq would bring "incalculable consequences." Observers say China is stuck between a desire to foster good ties with Iraq and secure access to its oil while also trying to improve relations with the United States.
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