SE Asian states form antiterror committee<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Manila<\/p>\n
The Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand on
\nThursday agreed to form a joint committee that will boost
\nmultilateral cooperation against terrorism and other
\ntransnational crimes.<\/p>\n
The decision to create the committee came at the end of a
\nthree-day security conference in Manila that was aimed at fine-
\ntuning multilateral responses to terrorism hosted by the
\nPhilippines' National Security Adviser Roilo Golez.<\/p>\n
The committee will provide \"policy guidance\" in the
\nimplementation of projects and establish a framework for
\ncooperation in exchanging information and setting up
\ncommunication procedures in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
Aside from terrorism, the joint committee will also handle
\nother crimes like \"piracy, money laundering, smuggling and gun-
\nrunning,\" Golez said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He did not say if this joint committee would have a permanent
\nheadquarters and where it would be located.<\/p>\n
Golez earlier said security chiefs in the region were mulling
\nthe creation of an ASEAN center where intelligence information on
\nthreats could be assessed.<\/p>\n
Regional security chiefs will also meet in Jakarta next Monday
\nto discuss proposals for a joint-task force aimed at combating
\nterrorism, Indonesian National Police Secretary for Interpol,
\nBrig. Gen. Nanan Sukarna, said.<\/p>\n
The three-day meeting would hopefully produce \"a mechanism for
\na joint task force that can investigate terror-related crimes and
\nagree on a procedure for the extradition of terror suspects\"
\namong 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) as well as from other nations, Sukarna said.<\/p>\n
The five Southeast Asian nations who took part in the Manila
\nexercise forged an anti-terror pact last year, binding them to
\nboost intelligence cooperation to fight terrorism. The five are
\nall ASEAN members along with Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
Those left out from the committee acted as observers but had
\nshown \"keen interest\" in joining the region's counter-terrorism
\npact, Golez said.<\/p>\n
The terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia last year and a
\nspate of attacks in the Philippines have highlighted the need for
\ngreater cooperation to crack down on suspected terrorist groups
\nin the region who are believed to have formed links for attacks
\nacross borders.<\/p>\n
Singapore last week linked the southern Philippines-based
\nMuslim separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to
\nthe Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, which has been blamed for
\nthe Bali attack.<\/p>\n
Regional authorities said the JI's ultimate aim was to
\nestablish a caliphate comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, southern
\nPhilippines and Singapore.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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