Attack on Afghanistan / Worldwide Reverberations: Asian Allies Back U.S. And Act on Security 
International Herald Tribune
October 9, 2001
Don Kirk

The United States won strong support Monday from its major Asian allies for the bombing of targets in Afghanistan even as American officials, business people and tourists braced for retaliatory attacks throughout the region.

The leaders of Japan and South Korea, the two countries where the United States bases most of its 100,000 troops in Asia, led the chorus of top-level approbation, calling for support for the U.S. action while urging calm among their people.

South Korea's president, Kim Dae Jung, appearing on all four of his nation's television networks Monday morning, declared, "The actions by international society led by the United States are justified" while condemning terror as "the enemy of all mankind."

Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, before taking off for a one-day trip to Beijing, spoke to President George W. Bush by telephone and told journalists, "Our country strongly supports these actions to combat terrorism."

The Chinese government, often suspicious of the U.S. military role in Asia and always offended by traditional U.S. support of Taiwan, offered what appeared to be guarded support of the attacks.

Without specifically endorsing them, a Foreign Ministry official said China hoped that "military strikes on terrorism should be targeted at specific objectives, so as to avoid hurting innocent civilians," according to Xinhua, the official Chinese press agency.

India reaffirmed its support. "Our stand has been clear," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, adding that Mr. Bush had talked to Mr. Vajpayee for 15 minutes by phone, assuring him that "the United States condemns terrorism wherever it occurs" and that "the fight against it would not be limited to a particular region."

Against the background of such declarations, troops and police officers were deployed to protect U.S. facilities around the world.

South Korea's armed forces were put on alert, and Japan and Taiwan took the additional precaution of beefing up security for their nuclear power plants.

The immediate threat appeared worst in Southeast Asian nations that have been the scene of often violent Islamic movements in recent years.

In contrast to the expressions of support from Korea and Japan, Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad, flatly opposed military action against the terrorists in Afghanistan. As troops guarded the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Mahathir warned that war would "only bring disaster to the country without overcoming terrorism."

The danger of an Islamic reaction was most severe in Jakarta, where the Islamic extremists sought to rouse what observers feared might turn into a mob reaction in Indonesia. Foreign companies and embassies shut their doors as the Islamic Defenders Front denounced the United States as "a terrorist nation," called on citizens to surround the U.S. Embassy and demanded the government break off diplomatic relations with Washington.

In the Philippines, where Muslim rebels have been waging a low-level civil war for decades, officials braced for more attacks by Abu Sayyaf, the most violent of several Islamic groups.

Small bombs exploded in three hotels in Zamboanga, on the southern island of Mindanao, the focal point of Muslim influence. But there were no casualties, and defense officials said the explosions were in response to a military offensive on the nearby island of Basilan, not the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan.

Still, the Philippine police stepped up security around foreign embassies in the Manila metropolitan area amid fears of anti-American protests by demonstrators opposed to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's promise to provide facilities for allied planes carrying supplies to staging areas for the attacks.

Protests appeared likely in numerous other capitals as word spread of a distant war on the Asian continent.

In Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Muslim-dominated Kashmir state, youths chanting "Long Live Islam!" and "Down with America!" stoned buses and taxis, while about 200 students protested peacefully at Kashmir University.

Japan increased police surveillance at nearly 500 Japanese and foreign buildings and property, including embassies, nuclear plants and major companies that might appear as likely targets for Islamic or radical vengeance.

The police also planned to increase security outside the major U.S. bases on the island prefecture of Okinawa, where the majority of the 47,000 American troops in Japan are stationed, amid fears of a recurrence of anti-American protests against their presence.

Japanese concerns were heightened by fears of a tough leftist response to bills presented by Mr. Koizumi's government on Friday that would empower Japan to provide weapons and ammunition to allied troops inside Afghanistan. Called Self-Defense Forces, Japan's military establishment is forbidden by its constitution from waging war overseas.

In Seoul, several hundred riot police officers, supported by armored vehicles, stood on alert on approaches to the U.S. Embassy, blocking about 100 anti-war protesters, the core of a group that often criticizes the American-Korean alliance and calls for withdrawal of the 37,000 U.S. troops from Korea.

Mr. Kim appeared more concerned about the potential economic impact. An emergency committee would seek to "minimize any negative effects on all the sectors of the economy, including financial markets, currency, prices, energy and corporate activities," he said, while the Bank of Korea would intervene to protect currency markets.

Later, at a meeting of his security council, Mr. Kim urged officials to get across the message that Korea was "opposed to terrorism, not to the Islamic culture." Underlining this point, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said it would send $1 million in emergency supplies to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to aid Afghan refugees.

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