Will Australian PM Launch Pre-emptive Strikes in RP?

With his reelection as Australian prime minister last Oct. 9, will John Howard make good his pre-election threat to launch pre-emptive strikes against terrorist cells in Southeast Asia including the Philippines? Howard had issued similar threats following a blast in Bali, Indonesia more than a year ago that killed hundreds of Australian and other foreign tourists.

By Caesar Ben Basan A. Barona 
Bulatlat

Howard had issued similar threats following a blast in Bali, Indonesia more than a year ago that killed hundreds of Australian and other foreign tourists.

Howard’s remarks drew criticisms from the opposition that this will put relations with Asia at risk. Taking his own stand, however, opposition leader Mark Latham (Australian Labour Party) did not question the U.S.-led “war against terror’’ and asked that the war be focused on Southeast Asia.

Before the election, Latham clashed with Howard in the “Great Debate” where he stated that if his Labour Party wins, Australian forces would become more involved in the maritime surveillance of the Philippines’ southern seas.

The mainstream international press has reported about ongoing traffic of Islamic militants in historic trading routes from Sulawesi and Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, across the Sulu Sea to Mindanao, Philippines. Members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), suspects in the Jakarta bombing, are allegedly taking training in Mindanao using the facilities of groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), ties which had allegedly been forged in Afghanistan. MILF leaders have denied the report.

Meanwhile, Indonesian police say the bombing in Jakarta has the hallmarks of former Malaysian engineer and university lecturer, Ashahari Husin. The alleged author of Jemaah Islamiyah’s bombing manual, Husin was trained in Afghanistan and the Philippines, reports said.

Pre-emptive strikes

If re-elected, Howard had said his government will give the Australian Federal Police the go-ahead to create two counter-terrorism teams to be based in Southeast Asia – naming the Philippines and Indonesia as probable centers. The statement elicited criticisms about the prime minister’s conflicting messages: while on the one hand, he said the Australian government will send police teams on the basis of cooperation, on the other hand, he also said Australian forces could launch pre-emptive strikes in sovereign countries.

But shadow (or opposition) Defense Minister Kim Beazley dared Howard to go ahead and pre-empt by attacking known terrorist bases in the southern Philippines.

The Howard government supports the “war against terror” led by the United States and justifies the U.S. invasion of Iraq as rightful. The prime minister also criticized the Philippines’ Macapagal-Arroyo government for withdrawing its humanitarian mission from Iraq following protests in the Philippines late July. The protests called for the contingent’s withdrawal to save the life of truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, a Filipino taken hostage by Iraqi rebels.

The idea of pre-emption has worried Southeast Asian countries. The Malaysian deputy prime minister said his country would protect its own sovereignty against any pre-emptive strike and shot down plans to post an Australian federal police flying squad in his country.

Last resort

To parry criticisms against Howard, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill clarified pre-emption as a “last resort.” Hill said that Australia was cooperating with countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia and the Philippines to protect national security and Australian citizens.

But Hill himself has not ruled out the possibility of sending special forces in an “operational sense.” He once said that if the Philippine government requests for support they will be “obviously addressed.”

Australia has sponsored a regional counter-terrorism conference and has bilateral arrangements with other countries. It has provided training assistance to Philippine forces.

Asked for comment, Jane Brock, Executive Officer of the Immigrant Women’s Speakout Association of New South Wales, said the Australian government’s reasons for intervening in Southeast Asia are “not valid.” She also said before the election that whatever party will be voted in the Australian elections will not make any difference for Filipinos, as the over-all framework is pro-U.S.

Brock emphasized that it is wrong for Australia to justify security concerns as a reason to violate the sovereignty of the Philippines and its people. She related how even MILF’s Eid Kabalu invited Australians to join the peace process with the Macapagal-Arroyo government.

She asked why launch pre-emptive strikes when even the Abu Sayyaf group is not capable of launching attacks on Australian soil. Bulatlat

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