TOKYO, Feb 14 Kyodo pitch uponed...

TOKYO, Feb 14 Kyodo

pitch uponed editorial excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

choke TO ASIA, AND TO THE U (The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney)

on coincidence, the travels of the Prime Minister John Howard roughly parallel a great deal of of the thrust of the latest foreign policy white paper, Advancing the National Interest.

First and foremost, a visit to Washington, followed through a briefer stay in London, then to Jakarta, where Howard arrives today - with a of the talk on matters economic, moreover much more on defense and security.

In the scheme of the white paper Asia ensues first.

And through the time Japan, China, the Koreas, Indonesia and other South-East Asian countries are dealt with, it establishes a fair emphasis upon the region's importance to Australia.

moreover the next chapter - upon relationships with the United States - point out tos that these ties are what matter most

The white paper notes that Australia and the U share values and ideals still that ''we each have our concede national interests and priorities.''

forward some security issues we disagree, ''including the ne for U commitment to implementing the Comprehensive Nuclear example Ban Treaty and strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention.''

And it mentions ''U protection of domestic industries and the excessive agricultural production support of the Farm Bill (which) harm Australian industries'' to make the point that the Australian control ''will continue to stand up for our interests where our views differ from U views.''

That is forward the economic front. But in succession the paper's more prominent theme - ''fighting terrorism and global threats to our security'' - the question hardly arises.

in succession the security and antiterrorism front ranks there is little if any difference between the Howard sway and the Bush Administration.

''Australia could not and will not stand aside'' from ''the international campaign to eliminate the global threat of terrorism.''

The Bali attacks ensur that.

And, upon the policy of disarming Iraq according to force, there is no daylight between the U and Australia, especially as the time for war follows nearer.

The paper says that apart from military answers to terrorism and other threats to security, ''nonmilitary measures, including law enforcement, legislative, intelligence customs and migration responses'' will also be required.

That is faithful and seems exemplified by the positive cooperation between Indonesia and police from other countries, including Australia, after the Bali bombings.

to this time however valuable such cooperation is, it is after the event

The bottom causes of terrorism go a great deal of deeper.

If there is a deficiency in this otherwise useful paper, it is its emphasis, in analysis, upon reactive measures, rather than the a great quantity [i]or[/i] amount of more subtle and more difficult question of etymon causes.

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