SYDNEY -- A new regional security mechanism involving the United States, Japan and Australia that risks offending China is high on the agenda of Australian Prime Minister John Howard for his Tokyo visit.
Closer, more flexible coordination of diplomatic and military responses between the partners, expected to gradually incorporate South Korea, is part of the Bush administration's new regional approach outlined in Canberra this week.
Talks between Australian government ministers and Washington officials headed by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell have cleared the way for formulating joint tactical responses to any alert in East Asia. It is the depth of involvement that Howard wants to discuss with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.