Australia's foreign minister lashed out today at comments by Malaysia's former premier that Australia would act as a proxy for America in a new 16-nation East Asian bloc of countries.

"I think even you could move beyond the puerile allegations of a 'deputy sheriff,'" Alexander Downer snapped at a reporter.

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a staunch opponent of Australia's inclusion in regional forums, on Wednesday criticised its admission to the new East Asian Summit group, saying it would likely be bossy and dilute the group's clout.

"Australia is basically European and it has made clear to the rest of the world that it is the deputy sheriff for America," said Mahathir.

Downer's comments came as Australia concluded its campaign to join the summit with the signing of a non-aggression pact with Southeast Asian countries.

Inaugural meeting

The first-ever East Asian Summit will bring together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) along with Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand and South Korea.

It will hold its inaugural meeting on Wednesday.

Australia had resisted signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with the 10 Asean countries as a condition of admission to the summit.

The treaty bans signatories from using violence to settle disputes in the region.

But Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who riled Southeast Asia three years ago by saying Australia had the right to mount pre-emptive strikes against foreign-based terrorists, initially said the treaty could interfere with defence commitments to allies such as the United States.

Downer, however, has said that Australia's right to self-defence under the UN charter would remain intact.

"We feel we can sign the treaty without it disrupting our relationships with countries beyond the region in particular the US," Downer said.

Common approaches

During his leadership, Mahathir tried to bring together Asean and its East Asian neighbours.

He said the original idea had been for East Asian nations to discuss common approaches in areas such as global trade negotiations, but that their positions would now be watered down by the inclusion of non-Asian countries.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar welcomed Australia's decision to sign the accord.

"We have never considered Australia a threat to us. Australia has a long relationship with many Asean countries and they are an important dialogue partner," he said.