ASEAN army chiefs meet in S'pore

ASEAN army chiefs meet in S'pore

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Southeast Asian army chiefs met in Singapore Tuesday to address security challenges emerging in a region where nests of extremists allegedly allied to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network are holed up.

Transnational cooperation is more crucial than ever in the post-Sept. 11 period, Singapore's Minister of State for Defense Cedric Foo said in an opening address.

The effects of the Sept. 11 strikes in the United States have been far-reaching "and the threat of catastrophic terrorism is a very real one," he said.

Foo told the army chiefs from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) new approaches were needed to deal with security threats in a region where the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore have all uncovered cells of militants allegedly linked to al-Qaeda.

"The nature of the new terrorism is global in scope and organization. It requires a re-examination of old approaches and responses," he said.

"The events of September 11 have provided an impetus for countries to cooperate more closely."

In addition to global terrorism, the region continued to face other security concerns with potential flashpoints in South Asia, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula

Foo said defense forces now have to also address non- conventional threats, which is "not an area which military forces have traditionally been involved in to any large extent.

"The challenge is to re-examine the military's traditional modus operandi, adapt existing doctrines to cope with the new threats, develop new capabilities where needed, and improve coordination with other government agencies to respond effectively."

More than 100 delegates from the armies of the 10 ASEAN countries are attending the conference.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.