ASEAN nations 'must be open'

ASEAN nations 'must be open'

Southeast Asian countries should be open with each other in
discussing regional security, which otherwise could be
compromised by their grouping's policy of noninterference, the
Malaysian foreign minister said on Friday.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
cannot remain fixated on its principle of not interfering in each
other's internal affairs because terrorism in one country can
have a profound effect on its neighbors, Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar said.

"ASEAN countries have to be very open now. We cannot just
limit things that happen within our borders as our internal
affairs," Syed Hamid told reporters.

He did not say what kind of openness Malaysia would like to
see in discussions on security, but was apparently referring to
intelligence sharing and asking neighboring governments to crack
down on extremist groups deemed to be a cross-border threat.

"We have to look at external effects because sometimes
(events) outside the region can be used by some extremist groups
as an excuse to commit terror or acts of violence beyond their
borders," he said.

Malaysia itself faces the cross-border terrorism dilemma with
neighboring Thailand, whose southern provinces are in the grip of
a separatist insurgency.

The Thai government claims that the extremists, who have dual
Thai and Malaysian nationalities, often cross over to Malaysia to
seek refuge after staging attacks. The two governments have set
aside the principle of noninterference to discuss the problem
openly.

As a demonstration of its commitment to curbing the extremist
problem, Malaysia said on Wednesday it will set up a new patrol
regiment to curb intrusions, smuggling and other transnational
crimes on its border with Thailand.

Syed Hamid said he hoped for more discussions on security
issues in future in ASEAN forums. He said a recent meeting of
ASEAN foreign ministers in Batam, Indonesia, discussed not only
security in the pirate-infested Straits of Malacca but also
surrounding areas such as waters off Thailand and the
Philippines.

Syed Hamid also expressed disappointment at the recent
decision of Lloyds - an international shipping insurance company
- to put the Straits of Malacca on its list of war-risk areas,
which increased premiums on shipping insurance.

"They consider it like a war zone area. I think that's a bit
of exaggeration. We are disappointed because we were never
consulted," he said. -- AP