Rumsfeld fears terrorist attacks in SE Asia waters<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday he hoped
\nU.S. forces would be hunting terrorists in Southeast Asia "pretty
\nsoon," warning that Islamic extremists are targeting moderate
\nMuslim states the world over.<\/p>\n
Rumsfeld made the remarks as he visited marines and sailors
\naboard the helicopter carrier USS Essex against a backdrop of oil
\ntankers and freighters that ply the Strait of Malacca, gateway
\nfor a third of the world's trade.<\/p>\n
"When are we going to start hunting some terrorists in this
\ntheater?" a marine asked Rumsfeld.<\/p>\n
"Well, I would hope pretty soon," the secretary replied.<\/p>\n
"We simply cannot wait for another attack and expect to defend
\nagainst it. We have to go out and find those terrorist networks
\nand the people financing them, and countries providing a safe
\nhaven for them.<\/p>\n
"It is a tough thing to do."<\/p>\n
Rumsfeld offered no details but the comment comes amid U.S.
\nand Singaporean efforts to improve maritime security in the
\nstrait, mainly through better intelligence sharing.<\/p>\n
Rumsfeld, who arrived here on Thursday for only his second
\nvisit to east Asia as defense secretary, is scheduled to address
\nan international security conference here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He is also due to meet with counterparts from countries around
\nthe region, including South Korea, Japan and Australia, on the
\nsidelines of the Asia Security Conference, which begins on Friday
\nevening.<\/p>\n
Among the issues likely to be raised besides terrorism are
\nU.S. plans for a global repositioning of U.S. forces.<\/p>\n
About half the world's oil supplies move through the narrow
\nchannel on the way to markets in Japan, China and South Korea,
\nmaking it a tempting target for Islamic militants seeking to
\ndestabilize the industrialized world.<\/p>\n
Singapore has consistently led warnings that the Malacca and
\nSingapore straits are extremely vulnerable to terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Increasing piracy in Southeast Asian waters, the
\ndisappearances of tugboats and last year's kidnapping of a
\ncommercial ship's captain have fueled fears terrorists may be
\nplanning to hijack vessels for a maritime version of September
\n11.<\/p>\n
But the initiative to increase security aroused controversy
\nafter the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Admiral Thomas
\nFargo, suggested in April that one option under consideration was
\nputting marines and special operations forces aboard high speed
\nvessels in the strait.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, which with Indonesia and Singapore straddle the
\nMalacca Strait, has sharply opposed the use of outside forces.<\/p>\n
Rumsfeld has sought to steer clear of the controversy, telling
\nreporters on the flight here from Washington that Fargo's
\ntestimony to Congress had been "misreported."<\/p>\n
"We're in the process of trying to unravel all of that. It is
\nin its early stages. They are in a consultation mode. They will
\nbe discussing it with various countries in the region," he said
\nof regional maritime security plans.<\/p>\n
Aboard the Essex, Rumsfeld emphasized intelligence sharing as
\ncrucial to defeating the maritime threat.<\/p>\n
"I think the fact that there's not a lot of publicity about
\nwhat's happening out here may be kind of misleading," he said.<\/p>\n
"Because there is pressure being put on terrorists in this
\npart of the world every day by the close cooperation we have, for
\nexample with our wonderful friends here in Singapore."<\/p>\n
Rumsfeld said Islamic radicals were bent on undermining
\nmoderate Islamic states.<\/p>\n
"A small minority are attempting to hijack that religion away
\nfrom the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims and in the
\nprocess drive the West and progress out of those countries and
\nout of their lives," he said.<\/p>\n
"They are not going to succeed."<\/p>\n
At another point Rumsfeld said: "They hope and they are making
\nefforts to destabilize the moderate Muslim countries everywhere
\nacross the globe."<\/p>",
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