---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- ANTARA, September 26, 1999 Comments: Howard Doctrine Is Proof Of Stupidity, Say Analysts Canberra, Sept 25 <ANTARA>- Australian Prime Minister John Howard's statement on his new policy in the field of defence, popularly called Howard Doctrine, describing his country as the only strong ally of the United States in Southeast Asia, is only showing the Australian leader's stupidity, an observer here said. Owen Harries, a commentator on UN foreign policy and also a former advisor to Australian Premier Malcom Frazer, said that if howard wanted Australia as astrong US ally, he would have to become "a deputy without sheriff." Harries, as quoted by the daily Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Saturday, said there were two main reasons why Howard had been absorbed in a lonely dream. Firstly, the US government was disciplined to his doctrine saying that "if you can't bomb him, you must make him a friend." Secondly, the US military commitment was only to West and North Asia. "I am not sure that the US is currently serious and has an ambition to seek a strong grip in Southeast Asia." A writer for the Asia Pacific column in the daily Australian Financial Review, Peter Hartcher said that Howard was a hypocritical leader who had applied different approaches to issues on human rights and democratization in Indonesia and China. To Chinese President Jiang Zemin who visited Canberra in early September, Howard said he really appreciated strong Australia- China relations even though the two countries were profoundly different in culture, history and political system. In the meantime, Howard applied a different approach to Indonesia. Australia wished to concentrate on a policy which was morally right in East Timor, even it was at the risk of two countries good relations. If Howard was really consistent with morality, he should also demand the independence of the Tibetan people from China. But that issue was never raised during a meeting with Jiang Zemin. >From this perspective, Howard could be seen as an inconsistent and hypocritical leader. Laughting Stock Such critism also from a number of military analysts and former Australian politicians. A lecturer at the Australian Defence Studies Center (ADSC), Bob Lowry, had the impression that the Howard Doctrine was something laughable. He stressed that all defence concepts presented by Howard were a step backward. Nowadays, defence concepts reffered to regional partnerships in defence. Partnerships contained the meaning of equality. But Howard talked in a different way by trying to be a strong ally of the United States in the Southeast Asian region. Another defence analyst from the National Australian University, Alan Dupont, said that Howard's statement on being a strong US ally was nonsence. It could turn out to be counter-productive as it contained a message that Australia was not more than a messenger of the United States. In the meantime, a former senator of the Liberal Party, david McGibbon, told the Weekend Australian that Howard's statement could pose a serious threat to Australia as this country was trying to return to a past colonial period during which Australian was isolated from Asia in the Pacific. "It is quite easy for Asia ti stir up anti Australian sentiments. In fact, we spent time more than 50 years to make a different perspective," he said. (U.LCB-01/RSI-03/22.10/INT-AJM-00:10/RSI-03/TB06) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 30 Sep 1999 jam 09:16:08 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
