U.S. military action in SE Asia unlikely: Envoy<\/p>\n
Regan Morris, Associated Press, Singapore<\/p>\n
United States military action in Southeast Asia - a region
\nofficials say has links to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist
\nnetwork - is unlikely, the U.S. ambassador to Singapore said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Frank Lavin told The Associated Press that any U.S.
\naction in Southeast Asia to curtail terrorism would likely
\ninvolve moves such as coordinating to fight money laundering, not
\ndirect military strikes.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials in Washington, speaking on condition of
\nanonymity, said on Wednesday that the Al-Qaeda network has been
\nbolstering Islamic insurgencies in Indonesia, the Philippines and
\nMalaysia, and that Southeast Asia has become a major operational
\nhub for the terrorist network.<\/p>\n
Lavin said the United States would work with governments in
\nSoutheast Asia if any anti-terrorist action was needed in the
\nregion.<\/p>\n
Most countries in Southeast Asia have condemned the Sept. 11
\nattacks in the United States, when hijackers crashed four
\npassenger planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon rural
\nPennsylvania.<\/p>\n
But some people in the region have staged anti-American
\nprotests since the Sept. 11 attacks, with many saying the United
\nStates unfairly blamed Muslims for the attacks.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people across Indonesia, the world's most
\npopulous Muslim nation, have staged rowdy protests, burning U.S.
\nflags and effigies of U.S. president George W. Bush amid calls
\nfor a holy war on the United States.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Lavin said the demonstrations and political
\ninstability would stymie U.S. investment flows into the region.<\/p>\n
\"The political turmoil undercuts investment. It diminishes
\ninvestors' appetite and increases the perception of risk,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Lavin said the political turbulence, coupled with the current
\ndownturns in the U.S. and Southeast Asian economies, does not
\naugur well for the region.<\/p>\n
Singapore - widely viewed as Southeast Asia's most developed
\nand stable country - is trying to weather its recession by
\npromoting itself as \"the best shop in the commercial district,\"
\nLavin said.<\/p>\n
He added, however, that Southeast Asian economies are
\nintertwined and that Singapore has little to gain from
\ninstability in neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
\"If you're the best shop only because the other shops are
\nclosed down, then that doesn't really help you,\" he said.<\/p>\n
More stability would help everyone in the region, Lavin said,
\nadding that U.S. businesses were committed to Southeast Asia.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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