ARF to cooperation in transport sector

ARF to cooperation in transport sector

Agence France-Presse Manila

Members of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) agreed to boost co- operation to combat terrorism in the transport sector, just weeks after bomb attacks on commuter trains in Madrid left nearly 200 dead, a draft statement said on Wednesday.

ARF members agreed to "jointly explore new forms and methods of combating terrorism in the transport sector" -- by road, rail, sea and air, as well as to boost the exchange of information on terror groups and their activities.

Members will also move to improve methods for identifying members of terrorist groups that move in international routes.

This would entail co-operation between law enforcement agencies in protecting travel documents and visa systems, according to the draft statement released at the end of a two-day conference in Manila.

ARF members would also increase co-operation in preventing transportation systems from being targeted by terrorists or used as a means to "perpetuate terrorist activities" by moving arms, explosives and bio-chemical weapons, it added.

"ARF participating states and organization will come up with plans to reinforce security measures in different modes of transport, in particular in the air, in light of the particular vulnerability of air transportation to terrorists," the statement said.

The Manila conference comes just two weeks after commuter trains were bombed in Madrid, Spain, leaving nearly 200 dead, and amid announcements by the Philippine government that it prevented a similar attack in Manila with the arrest of four local militants.

The ARF is the only security forum in East Asia. It includes the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and partners Japan, South and North Korea, China, India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the European Union, Canada, the United States and Mongolia.