Powell rejects U.S. 'Lone Ranger' danger

Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. is 'deeply engaged' with other nations

By CNN's Kirsty Alfredson

HANOI, Vietnam (CNN) -- After rejecting a biological warfare protocol, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has denied America risks becoming too "unilateral" or "going it alone too much".

"Over time people will see that we are not unilateralist, we are deeply engaged," Powell said Thursday.

Powell has been in Vietnam's capital Hanoi for the past two days for Asia Pacific security talks with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and more than10 other countries.

"For the last two and a half days I have been anything but a unilateralist here at ASEAN."

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Powell said however there were protocols that did not serve American interests or their intended purpose, which was the case with the protocol for the biological warfare convention.

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The U.S. decision, ahead of a visit to Australia, which had been promoting negotiations on the protocol, was described as "particularly disappointing" and an "enormous setback".

In Hanoi for the ASEAN post ministerial conference, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the decision undermined the effectiveness of the protocol.

"Those countries which have had reservations about it will hide behind the American decision," he said.

"It will be a lot easier for them to just say well if the Americans won't go along with it we won't go along with it, and they'll wipe the sweat away from their brows with relief.

"I just think they are trying to be purists, their argument is that because this verification protocol isn't pure therefore it is not acceptable at all and my point is that it is not pure it is an enormous step forward."

The disagreement is a break from usual relations between the two allied countries. Australia backs America's controversial missile defense system and has expressed "understanding" of the US decision to reject the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.

The biological warfare protocol and the missile defense system will be on the agenda when Downer and Powell and their defense counterparts meet on Monday in Australia's capital, Canberra.

Prior to the Australian visit, Powell travels to Seoul, South Korea, Friday where he'll hold bilateral talks and meet Prime Minister Kim Dae Jung.

On Saturday he visits Beijing.