SE Asian nations tighten security after Jakarta blast<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur\/Bangkok\/Manila<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian nations have beefed up security in their
\ncountries amid fears of possible terrorist attacks following a
\nbomb blast that ripped through a luxurious Jakarta hotel.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has tightened security at its ports, marine police
\nsaid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The tighter security measures include patrolling isolated
\nwaterways and closely checking all cargo ships and their crew,
\nincluding identifying their political ideologies and religions,
\nMarine Commander Muhamad Muda was quoted as saying by the Bernama
\nnews agency.<\/p>\n
\"Previously, the marine police only concentrated on the
\nwaters, now we will also focus on the ports,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The measures were necessary to check if ships carried any
\nhazardous materials and explosives that could be dangerous if
\nthey landed in the hands of terrorists, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The strict security is also due to the increasing number of
\nmerchant ships using our ports,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Thailand on Wednesday ordered its national agencies to beef up
\nsecurity in the wake of the Jakarta hotel car bombing and said
\nsoldiers and civilians would also be used in a bid to keep the
\nkingdom safe.<\/p>\n
Deputy prime minister overseeing security Chavalit
\nYongchaiyudh said he had told agencies to up their focus on
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
\"Violence is now higher particularly in our region and we
\ncould not care more. I have ordered every agency to be more
\nstrict on security. We promise every agency will be stricter on
\nsecurity,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"For keeping security tight, we won't use only police
\nofficers, but also soldiers and civilians,\" he said, declining to
\nelaborate.<\/p>\n
\"We will do our best. We also have volunteers who have been
\ntrained... to inform authorities (about suspicious actions). Now
\nwe have to keep watch on the situation,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Last month Thailand said it stepped up security around foreign
\nembassies, schools and tourist zones in light of intelligence
\nreports warning of a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
In June, Thai police smashed an alleged plot to bomb embassies
\nand tourist spots in the kingdom. Authorities arrested three Thai
\nMuslims suspected of belonging to the regional terror group
\nJamaah Islamiyah (JI) and of planning the bomb attacks.<\/p>\n
The three men -- a doctor, an Islamic teacher and his son --
\nare accused of conspiring with a Singaporean JI member to launch
\nthe attack during October's APEC Summit, when leaders from 21
\nnations will gather here.<\/p>\n
Philippine embassies in Southeast Asia, particularly in
\nIndonesia, have been ordered to boost their security after a
\ndeadly bomb attack in Jakarta that claimed up to 14 lives, an
\nofficial said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Our embassy on Jakarta is on high alert. We have increased
\nsecurity there. We advise (diplomatic personnel) to take extra
\nprecautions,\" Foreign Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said.<\/p>\n
Other embassies in the region had also been instructed to
\ntighten security, Ebdalin said, adding that \"terrorists could
\nstrike anywhere, even in the least vulnerable places.\"<\/p>\n
He remarked that the embassy in Jakarta already had special
\nsecurity arrangements with Indonesian authorities following a
\nbomb blast outside the Philippine ambassador's home in Indonesia
\nin August 2000.<\/p>\n
The blast killed two people and injured 21 others, including
\nambassador Leonides Caday. Indonesian authorities arrested a
\nsuspect whom they said carried out the attack in retaliation for
\nPhilippine military operations against local Muslim rebels.<\/p>\n
Fears of new attacks in the region were renewed after the bomb
\nblast outside the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday which
\nthe Red Cross said claimed 14 lives and left 152 others injured.
\nMuslim extremists are widely suspected to have been behind the
\nattack.<\/p>\n
Philippines Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said the terrorists
\nwere \"sadly mistaken if they think that such attacks will weaken
\nthe common resolve of nations to fight terror\".<\/p>",
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