NORTH KOREA:US vice-president Dick Cheney yesterday expressed concerns about China's military build-up and also questioned whether North Korea would follow through on its commitments in a recent nuclear deal.
In a speech in Sydney, Mr Cheney also stressed the importance of US forces remaining in Iraq to stop "jihadists" gaining a base from which to spread violence across the Middle East.
Anti-war protests have marked Mr Cheney's visit, with demonstrators scuffling with police.
"The notion that free countries can turn our backs on what happens in places like Afghanistan or Iraq or any other possible safe haven for terrorists is an option that we simply cannot indulge," Mr Cheney told the Australian-American Leadership dialogue. "If our coalition withdrew before Iraqis could defend themselves, radical factions would battle for dominance of the country."
Mr Cheney arrived in Australia after talks in Tokyo with Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in which China's military rise and its growing clout were high on the agenda.
In Sydney, Mr Cheney praised China's role in the six-party talks that led to an agreement under which North Korea agreed to disable its main plutonium-producing nuclear complex in return for fuel oil. But he raised concerns over China's military build-up. "Last month's anti-satellite tests, China's continued fast-paced military build-up, are less constructive and are not consistent with China's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise'," he said.
Mr Cheney echoed US president George Bush in saying the North Korea deal was a step toward disarmament, but also raised concern about whether Pyongyang would follow through.
"In light of North Korea's missile test last July, its nuclear test in October and its record of proliferation and human rights abuses, the regime in Pyongyang has much to prove, yet this agreement represents the first hopeful step towards a better future for the North Korean people."
Mr Cheney's speech was his first open acknowledgement of caution over the Korea deal. "On North Korea, I thought he was properly sceptical," said US analyst Michael Fullilove, from Australia's foreign affairs think tank, the Lowy Institute.
Analyst Ron Huisken, from the Australian National University's strategic and defence studies centre, said Mr Cheney's China comments may have been aimed at showing Japan it was alert to concerns about China's build-up.
During his Asian trip, Mr Cheney has sought to assure Japan and Australia - two of Washington's closest allies - that the US commitment to the region would stay strong despite Iraq.
Japan's defence minister, Fumio Kyuma, caused a stir before Mr Cheney's Tokyo visit by saying the war was a mistake.
About 50 protesters near Mr Cheney's Sydney hotel chanted "Chain up Cheney" yesterday and urged an end to the Iraq war.
The war has become a growing problem for John Howard's conservative government, which has slumped in opinion polls ahead of elections due in the second half of 2007. Some 67 per cent of Australians either want him to set a withdrawal date from Iraq or pull Australian forces out immediately.
Mr Cheney met Australian opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has gained traction in polls in part due to his anti-war stance.
While Australia has only 520 combat troops on the ground in Iraq, it has been one of the most vocal supporters of the US-led war. "Prime Minister Howard and the nation he serves has never wavered on the war on terror," Mr Cheney said, adding that the Australia-US alliance was never stronger.
Mr Howard also said he would stand by Washington.
Mr Cheney is due to meet Mr Howard today before leaving Australia tomorrow . - (Reuters)