Oct. 19 - One of the many reasons I like Australian PM John Howard is his resolute leadership in the South Pacific. His latest initiative is to seek a new security pact with Indonesia:

PRIME MINISTER John Howard wants to strike a new anti-terrorism treaty with Indonesian President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after he is sworn in as leader of the world's largest Muslim nation.

[...]

While law enforcement agencies already co-operate on many fronts, Mr Howard now wants to enter into a formal deal with Indonesia to help pursue terrorists.

The south-east Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah, which has close ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, is based in Indonesia and has carried out a string of deadly attacks across the country in the past three years, most notably the Bali bombing which killed over 200 people in 2002, and the attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta last month.

Mr Howard said today he would use his visit to Jakarta to signal his strong commitment to Australia's relationship with Indonesia.

Posted by: Debbye at 09:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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