3 ASEAN members sign antiterrorism pact

JAKARTA: Indonesia will cooperate with Malaysia and the Philippines in an antiterrorism pact which will enable extensive cooperation in combating terrorism in the area, foreign affairs minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday.

"The cooperation will be about the exchange of information, joint operations as well as extraditions between the countries," he told reporters at Merdeka Palace after accompanying President Megawati Soekarnoputri in receiving New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

The signing will take place in Kuala Lumpur at a ministerial level on Tuesday.

Participating countries have expressed optimism about cooperating to fight terrorism, saying such efforts should be done collectively.

"There is no doubt that it is regional security that will help us deter and defeat terrorism in Southeast Asia," Philippine national defense secretary Angelo Reyes said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. --Antara