Australian intervention would be 'act of war': Mahathir

comments     Published     Updated

Malaysia will consider any intrusion into its territory by Australian forces an act of war, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned in comments published today.

He was responding to a threat by Australian Prime Minister John Howard to launch strikes in overseas to prevent terrorist attacks.

"We will hold this as an attempt to wage war against the government and the country if Australia pursues its intention to attack any country to tackle terrorism," Mahathir was quoted as saying by local media.

"If they used rockets or pilotless aircraft to carry out assassination, then we will consider this as an act of war and we will take action according to our laws to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country.

"If they enter without permission, then we will consider this an infiltration by a foreign power and we will take action according to our country's laws," Mahathir said.

"It will definitely cause the situation to worsen. We feel this is not the way to fight terrorism."

Arrogant statement

Mahathir said Howard's statement not only disappointed him but was also arrogant, adding that Australia stood out like a sore thumb by trying to impose its European values on Asia.

Malaysia has detained more than 70 alleged Islamic militants since mid-2001, many of them members of the Jemaah Islamiah group suspected of involvement in last month's Bali bomb attack in which almost half of the more than 190 victims were Australian.

Howard's comments in a televised interview on Sunday also drew condemnation from other Southeast Asian nations. AFP



Malaysiakini
news and views that matter


Sign In