Summit's agenda hijacked by Bush

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN at Apec

SANTIAGO, Chile - United States President George W. Bush again hijacked the agenda at this year's Apec summit, using it to mount a new attack on the "Axis of Evil" nations North Korea and Iran.

It was a move that the Asia-Pacific leaders acquiesced to by their silence.

Not one leader tackled the validity of the United States' Iraq invasion in their closed meetings - it was not even discussed, said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Rather, the leaders chose to become an informal cheer squad to support the efforts of the second-term Bush Administration to bring the recalcitrant nuclear nations to account.

Nor was there any public questioning around Santiago over Bush's urgings for a crackdown on the aspirations of the two nations to take their place among those that could be "entrusted" to use their own nuclear weapons wisely (read here the US and China).

The hypocrisy of South Korea's own position - where it was smoked out by the International Atomic Energy Agency for moving towards a nuclear weapons programme - did not get a mention.

Yesterday's Leaders' Statement was pure vanilla, committing them to renewed efforts to combat terrorism and ensure regional security.

Chief executives - who got the Bush message first hand when he dropped in to address them on "Building Peace and Prosperity" at their adjoining summit - did not punctuate his address with spontaneous applause this time round.

There was a wariness among the captains of Asia-Pacific big business that Bush's jaw-boning might develop into the real thing if Washington's hawks get out of line.

This was tempered by the reality that other parties to the Six Nation talks such as Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, who had face-to-face meetings with Bush, were hopeful the issue could be resolved peacefully "by dialogue".

And a frank fact is that jaw-boning is essential if either nation can be persuaded to stop its programme.

Helen Clark's own address to the CEOs' summit - where she spoke of the need to ensure the US anti-terrorist agenda must also address the Palestinian question and include a broader coalition - got strong marks. Particularly her comment that it was "not in the interest of our planet to have a proportion of the Muslim world deeply divided from the West".

Unlike last year, where President Hu got in first to stake out China's position on the valuation of its currency after the US claimed it was losing out to artificially low-priced Chinese goods, China presented a softer message this time.

The reality is that it has now filled a leadership vacuum in the region helped by the anti-Americanism generated by the Iraq War.

Hu's low-key speech focused on "Win-Win Co-operation on Sustainable Development" - although Bush got in a shot saying his Administration would pressure for flexible exchange rates throughout the region.

But the reality is that Apec moved away from its original trade and economic focus after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Leaders appreciate that trade and security are now linked but many - such as Australia's John Howard - want the hard-edged rhetoric toned down in favour of an emphasis on building regional economic wealth.

Just three weeks after his emphatic re-election, Bush presented as a man on top of his game.

He has set a cracking pace for his second-term agenda and will go to Europe immediately after his inauguration ceremony to "renew transatlantic ties" which were damaged by the Iraq clash.

Bush's message was upbeat. America was "growing again" - the controversial tax cuts had helped the economy come out of recession.

He pledged to tackle massive unfunded liabilities in US entitlement systems and reduce the country's twin deficits.

"I understand there is concern about whether our Government is dedicated to dealing with our deficits - both short-term and long-term."

The Bush team also quietly claimed triumph at this year's Apec by scuttling a move by the Apec Business Advisory Council to create a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.

The Bush advance team, led by US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, used the trade ministers' meeting to instead push for a major focus on completing the current World Trade Organisation round.

US big business was also on song - decrying the proliferation of sub-stand bilateral deals in the region.

Some insiders suggested that the threat of a new free trade area was necessary to ensure the US - which has strong pockets of protectionism - stayed focused.

Bush was not so polarising as in previous appearances, but has some work to do before the sound of two-handed clapping breaks out at Apec.