Americans across Southeast Asia to mark Sept. 11 attacks

Americans across Southeast Asia to mark Sept. 11 attacks

Mike Casey, Associated Press, Singapore

Twelve months after the Sept. 11 attacks, Southeast Asia has
become known as the second front in Washington's war on terror.

Amid tightened security and heightened anxiety across the
region, Americans here will remember the attacks with church
bells, memorial services and candlelight vigils.

"This is clearly something no one will forget," said Joanne
Blakemore, a native New Yorker who is helping organize memorial
events in Singapore. "The day for me will be one of sadness but
also commitment. A lot of people in this community lost someone
or have friends who lost someone."

Southeast Asia is home to many expatriates, and tens of
thousands of local people have studied or worked in the United
States.

U.S. troops have helped fight Moro extremists in the
Philippines, in the first expansion of the U.S. war on terror
outside of Afghanistan. Dozens of Islamic hardliners allegedly
linked to al-Qaeda have been detained in Singapore, Malaysia and
in other countries.

Last month, the United States and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations concluded an anti-terrorism cooperation pact. Under
the agreement, the 10-member grouping agreed to share information
and boost police cooperation with Washington.

Fearing another terrorist attack, governments across the
region were expected to bolster security on Wednesday and
American embassies in many countries are to be on heightened
alert.

"There is no more immediate security threat facing the
regional countries now than that of global terrorism,"
Singapore's vice defense minister, Teo Chee Hean, said on
Saturday.

The government said last week it would beef up security at its
airport, ferry terminals and bridges through Sept. 11.

U.S. embassies in Jakarta, Indonesia, Hanoi, Vietnam and Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia will also hold memorial services on Wednesday.