Australia's opposition Liberal party has vowed to make efforts aimed at overturning a ban on uranium exports to India.
The Kevin Rudd government had 'failed' in strengthening regional ties, Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott said in an address to the Asialink Asia Society national forum in Canberra.
He said his party would work towards overturning the ban on uranium exports to India and encouraging Asian language studies in this country to strengthen regional ties, AAP reported.
"Indeed there has been at least as many small steps backwards as there have in the right direction," Abbott said, adding the government had managed to "antagonise" Japan over the whaling issue without saving any whales.
"The next coalition government will focus on building a strong strategic relationship with Japan" and conclusion of free trade negotiations with Tokyo would also be a focus, he said.
Abbott said there would also be an emphasis on better Asian language skills.
A decline in the study of foreign languages since the 1970s, when it was no longer necessary to study math or a language at matriculation, had caused interest in languages to wane.
"Fewer than five per cent now complete secondary school studying an Asian language," Abbott said.
"Confident that English is the world's second language, we have become linguistically lazy," Abbott said.
