Howard says Asia is Australia's first foreign policy priority

Howard says Asia is Australia's first foreign policy priority

Associated Press, Sydney, Australia

Relations with Asia remain Australia's number one foreign policy priority, Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday, as 2,000 of his country's troops were in the Middle East preparing for a possible war with Iraq.

Howard, who heads a three-term conservative coalition, said that in his seven years in office he had refocused foreign policy that under previous Labor administrations had concentrated almost exclusively on links with Asia.

"We've ... managed to rebalance our foreign and defense relationships," Howard told the Nine Network. "We're no longer seen as a country that's only interested in the Asian region, important though that is, and the region of our first priority."

Howard has been accused by opposition lawmakers of turning his back on Asia - a region of crucial economic and strategic importance to Australia - in favor of tightening bonds with Washington.

The United States is joint top of Australia's list of trade partners, but it shares the number one ranking with Japan and most of Canberra's other major export markets are in Asia.

Australia and the United States are joined by a close military alliance that has angered some Asian neighbors, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia.

He also recently enraged the region by saying Australia would be prepared to send troops into neighboring countries to stamp out terrorist threats to Australia. Last week Howard's government revealed plans to make Australia's armed forces more mobile to allow troops to swoop onto terror hot spots.

Howard also angered many in the region when he sent Australian troops to East Timor to lead an international force that restored order there after the province's August 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia.

And his strong backing for the tough U.S. line on Iraq, sending forces to the region to prepare for war, has caused yet more friction with mainly Muslim neighbors like Indonesia and Malaysia.

Howard recently visited Jakarta to reassure the world's most populous Islamic nation that his government's strong line on Iraq was in no way an anti-Muslim crusade.

But Howard said Australia's foreign policy now should be seen as far more far reaching than just Asia or the United States.

"I think we're also seen around the world as a country that has interest everywhere," he said.