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Australia Warned of US-China Crossfire
The national security adviser to the former US President Bill Clinton warned that Australia would be caught in the crossfire between the United States and China if the Bush Administration persisted in rushing to develop a missile defense shield.
Sandy Berger was interviewed by the Australian daily The Sydney Morning Herald on the eve of Prime Minister John Howard's visit to the United States.
Berger said hard-line elements in the Bush Administration viewed China as the new enemy. "If we treat China like an enemy we 'll make China an enemy. America's presence in Asia should be as a stabilizing factor not as a provocative factor," he emphasized.
Berger questioned the cause for developing the missile defense system, saying that "we're moving too fast on missile defense. There is a potential rogue state missile threat that we need to deal with, but it's one of a range of security interests, it's not necessarily the greatest threat we have."
Apparently aimed at the US plan to strengthen its Asian security alliances, he pointed out that "it's unwise to put our allies -- whether it's Japan or Australia -- in a spot where they are caught in the middle."
He expressed he didn't believe Australia wants to be placed in "a crossfire ". "I don't think it's necessary," he said.
The Howard Government is the unique unreserved supporter over the world to the Bush Administration's missile defense system plan.
On the same day, the daily published accidentally an article entitled "The point is, prime minister, this is where we live", criticizing the government's foreign policy.
It said frankly that "Howard has led us away from Asia and the Pacific, and back towards a "reinvigorated" security alliance with the United States, at a time when Washington's own foreign and defense policies are facing increasing criticism."
Prime Minister Howard is heading to the United States later Saturday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Australia-New Zealand- America security treaty and to hammer out a more solid Australia-US relationship.
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