Bush wants greater Asian support for battling terrorism, avian flu

WASHINGTON, Wednesday (AFP) US President George W. Bush said he would seek greater Asian efforts to battle terrorism and avian flu and uphold and strengthen democracy during his trip to the region this month.

Bush would leave next week on visits to Japan, China, South Korea and Mongolia. He would also attend a summit of 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the South Korean city of Busan where efforts to open up global trade would top the agenda.

"I'm really looking forward to my trip," said Bush, who last visited the region in 2003 when he attended the APEC summit in Bangkok with trips to Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia

"So this is a chance for me to continue to talk about the war on terror, the need for all of us to work to spread freedom," he said in an interview with reporters from the countries he would visit.

The United States has an anti-terrorism pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) while APEC members Australia, South Korea and Japan are among nations with troops supporting US forces in Iraq.

In China, Bush is expected to raise a host of trade and economic issues, including the need for currency flexibility and respect for intellectual property rights.

The sensitive topic of human rights would also be raised with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"I will continue to remind President Hu about, for example, my personal faith and the belief that people should be allowed to worship freely," Bush said. "And a vibrant, whole society is one that recognizes that certain freedoms are inherent and need to be part of a complete society." Bush said without elaborating that Hu had "made some very positive statements, and interesting statements about different aspects of freedom."

The US leader also said another "important" aspect of the regional trip was devising common strategies to tackle bird flu and strengthen preparations for a feared human pandemic that could erupt from the H5N1 avian virus.

"All I'm saying is that if it happens anywhere, China and the United States, Japan and South Korea, ASEAN countries, APEC countries, everyone is going to have to work together to identify, contain and respond to an outbreak.".