Australia accused of trying to take over Asia

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1038888993478

From news article:

Australia dismissed escalating diplomatic outrage over its tough anti-terror stand as "nonsense" and "absurd" on Tuesday after Asia's longest serving leader said a pre-emptive military strike against terrorists in the region would be "an act of war."

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who has long viewed Australia as an agent of the United States, said the country stood out like a "sore thumb" in Asia and was behaving "as if these are the good old days when people can shoot Aborigines without caring for human rights."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday he would order pre-emptive strikes against suspected terrorists if they were plotting attacks against his country or countrymen.

[...]

Nonetheless, the Philippines despaired that Australia might be "harboring hegemonic ambitions in the region" and ridiculed Canberra's call for the U.N. Charter to be changed to allow members states to launch pre-emptive anti-terror strikes on foreign soil.

"This proposal has no ghost of a chance to be supported in the U.N. General Assembly," Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople Ople said in a statement released during an official visit to Japan.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, the military chief said a pre-emptive strike by Australia would be "an act of aggression."

The Jakarta Post quoted Gen. Endriartono Sutarto as saying, "We will not stand by should they attack."