APEC told to secure transportation systems

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Visiting U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta warned on Tuesday that transportation networks remained the main targets of terrorists and that countries had to work hard to protect them.

"Our transportation systems are a target of choice for terrorists who wish to disrupt our commerce and cripple our prosperity," Mineta was quoted as saying by The Associated Press at the start of the fourth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) transportation ministerial meeting.

Held at the Westin Resort here, the three-day meeting started on Tuesday and will run until Thursday.

During the meeting, talks are expected to focus on bolstering maritime and aviation security as well as boosting investment.

"We must use our leadership to see that APEC applies the same determination to securing our transportation network as it has done to successfully promoting trade and investment," added Mineta.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who opened the meeting, asserted that considerations should also be made to limit the impact on economies, but without ignoring heightened security.

"The tightening of security measures at transportation means has made traveling less uncomfortable. The island of Bali and our people who make a living from tourism were the first witnesses of the negative effects of the decline in transportation activities," she said.

Tourism in the country was shattered following the devastating bomb explosions on Oct. 12, 2002 in Bali, which killed 202 people and injured hundreds of others.

As a result, travel warnings have been issued by Western governments for their citizens who wish to travel to Indonesia -- acts that have drawn complaints by the government and business players for scaring off visitors.

Some exporters have also complained at rising costs resulting from heightened security measures in the transportation sector.

Meanwhile, Malaysia and Singapore vowed to continue with efforts to thwart the threat of piracy and terrorism in the Malacca Strait following the recent launch of coordinated patrols of the two countries together with Indonesia.

The vital shipping lane between peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island has been plagued by rampant piracy.

It is also feared that terrorists could hijack any one of the 50,000 vessels that enter the strait every year and use it as a floating bomb to attack a port.