Rumsfeld described charges of Washington 's unilateralism as "a myth and a mantra"

SINGAPORE, June 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Saturday, June 5, pressed Asia to become more engaged in Washington's so-called war on terror, a day after accusations from Asian allies that the U.S. was "part of the problem".

"Today, in this new era, our close cooperation with allies and friends in Asia is more essential than ever," Rumsfeld told the Asia Security Conference, which attracted security officials from 21 nations, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The phenomenon of ideological expansion -- of which terrorism is the weapon of choice -- stands in the way of global political progress and economic prosperity, threatens the stability of the international order, and clouds the future of civil society," he added.

Rumsfeld played the oft-repeated tone that it is impossible to snuff out all attempts by Al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

"What we don't know is what's coming in the intake, how many more of those folks are being trained, developed, organized and deployed and sent out to work the scenes, the shadows and the caves."

He said U.S. plans to move about 3,600 of its 37,000 troops in South Korea to Iraq was not reduction in Washington 's security commitment to Asia .

Part Of The Problem

The U.S. defense secretary dismissed accusations that the U.S. was too unilateralist.

"I think frankly (it's) a bum rap...a myth and a mantra that people use," he argued.

In an implicit criticism of Washington 's do-it-alone policy, European and Latin American leaders pressed late Friday, May 28, for a greater multilateral decision-making  to solve pressing international problems.

Opening the conference late Friday, June 4, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong warned that the U.S. stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was helping to fuel global terrorism.

"This is too important an issue to dress in diplomatic niceties. The U.S. is essential to the solution but it is also part of the problem," he said, with Rumsfeld listening in the audience.

"A more balanced and nuanced approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- an approach that recognizes that there are equities and inequities on both sides -- must become a central pillar of the global war on terrorism.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a rallying cause for terrorism. We know that a solution to it will not end terrorism... but the discomfort that mainstream Muslims feel around the world feel with America 's Middle East policies limits their ability to fight the ideological battle."

Seaborne Terror

The defense officials also discussed a possible seaborne terror attack in the narrow Strait of Malacca running from Indonesia and Malaysia down to Singapore , according to Reuters.

More than 50,000 commercial vessels travel the 805-km (500-mile) channel each year, carrying about a third of the world's trade and 80 percent of Japan 's oil needs.

To counter seaborne threats, the U.S. is preparing to begin talks due by mid-year with Asian nations on maritime security, dubbed the "Regional Maritime Security Initiative."

Admiral Walter F. Doran, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told reporters the initiative aimed to improve information sharing but ruled out stationing forces and building bases near sensitive shipping lanes.

However, Asia 's heavyweight Muslim country, Malaysia , remained opposed to an American military intervention in the Strait of Malacca .

"We don't agree to the entry of a third nation," Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said.

Meanwhile, several of Washington 's closest allies in the region, including Japan , South Korea and Australia , said they were prepared to step up military plans to improve regional security.

"In today's world, where terrorist attacks and the act of war are more difficult to be distinguished, we should further contemplate on the possibility of utilizing military power for policing," Japan 's defense minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said in a written statement.

For his part, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said he was personally in favor of expanding the scope of the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA) -- a remnant of British colonialism -- to address the terrorism threat facing the region.

He added that the FPDA should only be expanded provided it did not erode the existing usefulness of the annual defense exercises held jointly by all five members.

The five members -- Australia , New Zealand , Singapore , Malaysia and Britain -- must also agree on the move if it does materialize, Hill stressed.

Earlier Hill said FPDA members were currently involved in a debate relating to "the value in extending Five Power Defense Arrangement exercises, from those addressing conventional threat, to include terrorist threats".