U.S. boosting Asian counterterrorism cooperation: Rice<\/p>\n
Associated Press, Phuket, Thailand<\/p>\n
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday
\nthe United States is stepping up cooperation to fight terrorism
\nin Southeast Asia, warning that terror attacks remain a major
\nthreat across the region.<\/p>\n
"The threat of extremism is a threat that is worldwide and has
\nhad its manifestation in Southeast Asia," she said, citing
\nnightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002 that killed 202
\npeople. "This is a region that does have a problem."<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia terror leader Riduan Isamuddin, also known as
\nHambali, was arrested in Thailand in 2003 after an investigation
\nassisted by Washington. He is now in U.S. custody.<\/p>\n
Hambali is believed to be the main link between al-Qaeda and
\nJamaah Islamiyah, the regional terror group blamed for the Bali
\nbombings, and a 2003 attack at the J.W. Marriott hotel in
\nJakarta, Indonesia that killed 12 people.<\/p>\n
"With our regional partners, we're intensifying
\ncounterterrorism cooperation, we're intensifying intelligence
\ncooperation, we're intensifying law enforcement cooperation,"
\nRice said, without elaborating.<\/p>\n
She added: "We've had training and tactical assistance on some
\nof these matters with Thailand and we intend to continue that."<\/p>\n
But her decision to skip a key regional security meeting has
\nsent "an uneasy signal" that Washington may be sidelining
\nSoutheast Asia, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Rice will be the first secretary of state to miss the annual
\nsecurity meeting - hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations, or ASEAN - since Alexander Haig skipped it in 1982.<\/p>\n
"I hope it is not an indication that the U.S. is giving less
\nimportance or showing less interest in ASEAN while focusing on
\nthe Middle East," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told
\nreporters. "I think ASEAN is an equally important regional area."<\/p>\n
Rice told reporters during a one-day visit to Thailand Monday
\nthat, "I think this is a vital organization in which we want to
\nengage more. I do have other essential travel in roughly the same
\ntimeframe."<\/p>\n
The further strengthening of the United States' relationship
\nwith Thailand in providing humanitarian assistance after the Dec.
\n26 tsunami has also helped bolster cooperation in dealing with
\nterrorists, she said.<\/p>\n
Rice arrived on the resort island of Phuket on late Sunday
\nafter talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders in a four-nation tour
\nthrough Asia focused primarily on how to get North Korea to give
\nup nuclear weapons development.<\/p>\n
In a major breakthrough, Pyongyang said on Saturday it would
\nabandon a yearlong boycott and resume disarmament talks this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Rice spoke to reporters after meeting with Thailand's Prime
\nMinister Thaksin Shinawatra and Foreign Minister Kantathi
\nSuphamongkhon at the start of a one-day visit to review the
\ncountry's efforts to rebuild coastal areas battered by the
\ntsunami.<\/p>\n
Photo on Page 3, story on Page 11<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-boosting-asian-counterterrorism-cooperation-rice-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }