After a meeting with the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff during a visit aimed at boosting military ties between the two allies, Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters he supported Australia joining US-led ballistic missile defense programs. However, skeptics in nearby Indonesia have suggested Australia could start a regional arms race if it pursued such programs but this appears to be blustering for the benefit of an ignorant public. Other than China and North Korea, no one else is the region is in a position to develop the offensive capabilities - Adam Gibe