June 1st 2003
His star is shining bright - and may even glow more. The career of United States Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, clearly the star of this weekend's Asia Security Conference, is said to be rising further in the Bush administration, especially after the US victory in Iraq. The whispers in Washington are that he may even be a candidate for Vice-President. Before he flew off to Seoul yesterday, Mr Wolfowitz held a roundtable with a small group of journalists. The Straits Times Deputy Editor FELIX SOH was among them. Here are excerpts of the session.
Moderate Islamic states, particularly those in South-east Asia, are deeply suspicious of the US after the war in Iraq. What is the US response to such an attitude?
The relatively quick end to the Iraq war and the uncovering of mass graves there probably have some positive impact on the attitude of Muslims.
President George W. Bush's meeting with Arab leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh and with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Aqaba will have further positive effect on this part of the world.
The concerns of Indonesian Muslims are focused on Indonesia. A large proportion of Indonesians are moderate in outlook. They are still suffering from the impact of the Bali bombing. US-Indonesian cooperation is still very strong.
On the reported realignment of US military forces around the world, would the US ask Australia and the Philippines, or even Malaysia and Vietnam, to host these troops?
That report as a broad concept is accurate but the details are salacious. There is no realism in the thinking that the US would have a naval base in Vietnam.
We want our main points of military access to be in countries where we have traditionally strong ties and which welcome us. The Philippines told us to go. I don't expect them to want us back.
When will the study on realignment of US forces be completed?
In the case of South Korea and Japan, formal consultation is under way.
The timing depends on what we hear from our allies. There is no one decision point.
In the aftermath of two major conflicts, it is an unusually good time now to rethink our defence posture. Starting in 2005, we are taking a fundamental look at deployment within the US. A lot of painful decisions will arise from plans to realign at home.
In your speech, you said very nice things about China. You even said that China is a model for North Korea.
China is a model for North Korea. If we want to persuade the North Koreans to pursue an outcome, it should be one that's not suicidal. China is very much focused on its internal problems and sustaining its own growth, which is a big challenge.
But we don't think that everything it does is fine. For example, we are still concerned about China's level of military buildup.
What are your comments about the Indonesian military's current operations in Aceh to crush the separatists?
On both sides - the Indonesian government and the Acehnese rebels - there is a sense of frustration. From our side, we are disappointed that they can't reach agreement.
The military should be as transparent as possible and allow human rights groups to monitor its operations.
