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.