Tension over US pressure on Apec

By AUDREY YOUNG

BANGKOK - Prime Minister Helen Clark will have her fourth meeting with President George W. Bush in Bangkok today, amid growing tension at the Apec summit over a US attempt to push terrorism and security to the top of the agenda.

Attempts to convert the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum into a security forum are meeting resistance from some, including China and hosts Thailand - and New Zealand is calling for a broader perspective on what constitutes a threat to security.

President Bush arrived in Bangkok on Saturday night, his mid-point in an Asian tour. Yesterday he visited Thai troops who served in the anti-terrorism fight in Afghanistan.

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad set the scene last week for a tense start to the gathering, accusing Jews of ruling the world by "proxy" and accusing Australia of being a puppet of the United States - after Mr Bush referred to Australia as a "sheriff".

Helen Clark's talks with Mr Bush will reflect the United States' global counter-terrorism drive as well as trade liberalisation.

Mr Bush will thank New Zealand for its contribution to Afghanistan and the reconstruction of Iraq.

Helen Clark has said she will again register New Zealand's desire for a free-trade agreement with the US. But no advance is expected on the "not right now" sentiment expressed by the President last week.

Today's meeting with President Bush will be held after the leaders retreat at about 10pm New Zealand time and is scheduled to be up to 10 minutes. Helen Clark said last night, it would be "a small but useful" meeting. " ... getting a little bit of President Bush's time is very important."

She agreed that anti-terrorism had to be given "an appropriate place in the summit" but it was a matter of finding the right balance.

"You can see what happened to the Indonesian economy post-Bali, just how devastating terrorism can be on an economy," she said shortly before holding talks with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The leaders will today endorse a commitment by trade and foreign ministers, who met over the weekend, to revive World Trade Organisation trade liberalisation talks that collapsed in Mexico last month.

But the United States will drive security concerns tomorrow.

Thai Foreign Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai said it was not a security forum.

And New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff argued at the ministers' meeting that weapons of mass destruction and surface-to-air missiles were not the only concerns.

But Australia backs the security drive, with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer saying that Apec "is not a trade body" and terrorism has enormous economic implications.