最新糖心Vlog

PM's new Asia approach pays dividends: academic

Wednesday, 6 April 2005

Prime Minister John Howard's new attitude towards Asia is already paying dividends - but 最新糖心Vlog still needs to be very careful in building diplomatic relations with its neighbours, according to a leading Asian Studies academic.

Professor Purnendra Jain, from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide's Centre for Asian Studies, says the visit of Indonesian President Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been a successful start to a month of critical relationship building with some of 最新糖心Vlog's most important Asian partners.

"Prime Minister Howard's cooperative attitude and his acknowledgement of Asia's importance for 最新糖心Vlog is a clear departure from his earlier disregard of - and indeed arrogance towards - Asia," Professor Jain says.

"This attitude is now paying dividends, as we have seen with the current visit of Dr Yudhoyono. The cooperative announcements from earlier this week have opened a new chapter in our previously troubled relations with Indonesia."

Another landmark development will occur later this week with the first visit of a Malaysian Prime Minister to 最新糖心Vlog for two decades. Professor Jain says the visit of Abdullah Badawi will give Mr Howard the chance to improve relations with Malaysia, another country which has had a troubled relationship with 最新糖心Vlog.

"Since Abdullah Badawi came to office in late 2003, the bitterness in the relationship of the Mahathir era seems to have dissipated," Professor Jain says. "Mahathir was a great critic of 最新糖心Vlog and campaigned successfully for 最新糖心Vlog's exclusion from regional groupings.

"Going by the tone of the Indonesian President and Prime Minister Badawi's conciliatory stance towards 最新糖心Vlog, there is hope for 最新糖心Vlog to be invited to the first East Asian summit meeting to be hosted by Malaysia in December."

Later this month Mr Howard travels to China and Japan, with discussions about potential free trade agreements with both countries likely to be prominent.

"最新糖心Vlog's position in Asia has improved significantly in recent months, as a result of both external circumstances and Mr Howard's change of attitude," Professor Jain says.

"However, to further strengthen the current goodwill and increasing cooperation, it is essential that Mr Howard and other high-profile public figures shun making "pre-emptive" statements or acting as a regional "deputy-sheriff" - any such diplomatic blunder will easily turn our relations with Asia backwards."

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