Asian leaders react to start of war

Asian leaders react to start of war

Indonesian Muslim groups have condemned the war

The main allies of the United States in Asia, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, have all been quick to voice support for the US-led attack on Iraq.

But Muslim nations have criticised military action, and China repeated its call for the crisis to be resolved diplomatically.

Japan issued a statement backing the American stance soon after US President George Bush announced that war had begun.

"I understand the start of the use of force by America and support it," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a televised address.

"If a dangerous dictator possesses dangerous weapons of mass destruction, we will face a big danger. How to get rid of this threat concerns people around the world," Mr Koizumi said.

A large and powerful nation, along with its allies, has acted with disregard for international law, humanity and universal justice

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said Manila gave both political and moral support for the action against Iraq.

"The Philippines is part of the coalition of the willing. We are giving political and moral support for actions to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction," she said.

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun also pledged his government's support for the US-led war.

He also said his country would make all possible effort to ensure the war with Iraq did not worsen relations with North Korea.

'Black mark in history'

But many Muslim leaders expressed their anger at the start of the military campaign.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the attack was "a black mark in history" with "the world now seeing might is right".

"A large and powerful nation, along with its allies, has acted with disregard for international law, humanity and universal justice," Mr Abdullah said in a televised address.

Malaysia's conservative Islamic opposition party Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) predicted the eventual downfall of the US.

"This despicable war exposes the ugliness of America and its allies," said Abdul Hadi Awang, the PAS president.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, President Megawati called on the UN to act.

"Indonesia strongly denounces the unilateral attack on Iraq. The Indonesian government calls on the Security Council of the United Nations... to hold an emergency meeting to urge the United States and its allies to halt the war," she said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Marty Natalegawa, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman, told the BBC's East Asia Today programme that an attack on Iraq was not a legitimate act.

He also warned of the long-term consequences of the war.

"We should not go down the road of regime change, because it is like a Pandora's Box: where do we stop in terms of which regimes are appropriate and which are not?" he said.

China demanded an immediate halt to the US-led campaign.

A Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Kong Quan, said the US-led attack "violates the UN charter and the basic norms of international laws".

"We strongly urge relevant countries to immediately stop military action," he told reporters.

"They ignored the opposition of most countries and peoples of the world and went around the UN Security Council to begin military action against Iraq," he said.

Murid Timasaen, a spokesman for Thailand's Muslims for Peace Group, said the Americans had "attracted more enemies than ever, not only from the Muslim world but also from the Buddhist community."