ASEAN nations urged to join antiterrorism pact<\/p>\n
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Malaysia on Friday urged all Southeast Asian nations to accede to
\na trilateral anti-terrorism pact it signed with Indonesia and
\nPhilippines to forge an ASEAN agreement.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said he would raise the
\nmatter at next month's annual talks with his counterparts in the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei.<\/p>\n
He said Thailand, Laos and Singapore had so far expressed
\ninterest in joining the pact sealed last month in Kuala Lumpur to
\ncombat terrorist groups and prevent them from using their assets
\nfor transnational crime.<\/p>\n
The treaty took calls for joint training exercises, the
\nestablishment of hotlines, standard procedures on search and
\nrescue, and the sharing of intelligence.<\/p>\n
\"I will bring it up at the forthcoming ASEAN ministerial
\nmeeting in Brunei. We hope that other countries will accede to
\nthis agreement. It's a very constructive, useful agreement,\" he
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
\"We think that post-September 11, it is useful to exchange
\ninformation to combat the greater threat of international
\nterrorism, things that may affect transnational crime, funds of
\nterrorists that may be kept in each other's country or
\ninformation that we obtained from third parties.\"<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was
\nlikely to discuss terrorism and the need for greater ASEAN
\ncooperation with his Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra during
\nhis July 5-7 visit to Thailand.<\/p>\n
It is Mahathir's first trip to Thailand since Thaksin was
\nelected in January last year.<\/p>\n
ASEAN security ministers at a special meeting on terrorism in
\nKuala Lumpur last month endorsed the use of preventive laws to
\nfight the scourge but failed to agree on the definition of
\nterrorism.<\/p>\n
They also lauded the pact among Malaysia, Indonesia and the
\nPhilippines to combat terrorism but stopped short of mapping out
\na regional agreement.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-nations-urged-to-join-antiterrorism-pact-1447893297",
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