In December 2002, after Islamic terrorists bombed two nightclubs in Bali, killing over 200 people (including 89 Australians), the Prime Minister, John Howard, said that Australia would be prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike against terrorists in another country if he had evidence they were about to attack Australia.At the time, his comments drew strong criticism from South-East Asian regional powers, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia; but subsequent developments in the region…
