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.