Bush urges Asia-Pacific to maintain fight on 'terror'

President Bush today urged Asia-Pacific nations to keep up the anti-terror fight, deploying both military might and democratic ideals to turn the tide against extremists.

“Pressure keeps the terrorists on the run, and when on the run, we’re safer,” he said in Australia. “We must be determined, we must be focused and we must not let up.”

In the speech to business leaders in Sydney, Bush prodded Russia and China to honour democratic principles and allow more freedoms. He appealed for international pressure against the military government in Burma to stop its crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the Southeast Asian nation.

The president added that North Koreans should share the same liberties that citizens of their democratic neighbours enjoy.

Bush spoke optimistically about the war in Iraq and urged other nations not to turn away.

“We’re going to succeed in Iraq,” he said.

Bush said nations across Asia should understand the importance of fighting terrorism, since they have so often been its victims.

Bush was about 15 minutes late starting his speech, as aides hustled audience members down from the balcony to fill the many empty seats below.

He started his remarks with a gaffe. In Sydney to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (Apec), a 21-nation group of Pacific Rim countries whose economies account for nearly half of all global trade, Bush first referred to the group as Opec, the cartel of major oil producers. The audience remained quiet through his speech.

Yesterday, the president met China’s President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the summit. Today, he had lunch with South East Asian leaders and was meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bush and Hu, leaders of two of the world’s worst polluting nations, both called for greater international co-operation in tackling climate change without stifling economic growth. Bush repeated that theme in his speech today, calling on Pacific Rim nations to lead the way toward a worldwide trade agreement.

“Our challenge is to strengthen the forces of freedom and prosperity in this region,” Bush said.

He said the best way to open markets was to achieve a breakthrough in global trade negotiations known in the economic world as the Doha round.

“The United States is committed to seizing this opportunity _ and we need partners in this region to help lead the effort,” the president said. “No single country can make Doha a success, but it is possible for a handful of countries that are unwilling to make the necessary contributions to bring Doha to a halt.”

Bush also asked the Asia-Pacific leaders for their co-operation on climate change. He acknowledged the fears of some that the United States was trying to construct a successor to the Kyoto Protocol outside of international efforts already under way.