Australia defends Asian commitment

Australia defends Asian commitment

CANBERRA (Reuter): Australia's new conservative government yesterday again defended itself from persistent claims it would turn its back on Asia -- this time from a former Indonesian ambassador to Australia.

"(The comment) that the coalition is going to turn its back on Asia -- that is wrong," Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, told reporters in Canberra.

"We have great links with Asia and we're going to build on those links with Asia in a positive, constructive way and build it on the basis of mutual respect," he added.

Fischer was referring to a weekend Jakarta Post newspaper article by Indonesia's former ambassador to Australia, Sabam Siagian, in which he said Australia's new government would be inward looking.

Australian-Asian relations are set for a "permanent winter sleep", he wrote.

Australia's conservative Liberal-National coalition government, which won a landslide election victory on March 2, has faced constant claims from Labor politicians that it would ignore Asia in preference to Britain and the United States.

Ousted Labor prime minister Paul Keating made integration of Australia into the booming Asian economies a major platform of his failed election campaign.

Some Asian commentators and diplomats have said Australia's new government will find it hard initially to replicate the strong personal ties built between Asian leaders and Keating and his former foreign minister, Gareth Evans.

Howard -- Page 11