ASEAN to patrol in

ASEAN to patrol in Philippine waters

MALAYSIA: Four Southeast Asian countries agreed on Sunday to start joint sea patrols to fight cross-border crimes and beef up security in piracy-prone waters around the southern Philippines, officials said.

Security in the area, prone to sea robberies, smuggling and kidnappings, topped the agenda when leaders of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines met on Sunday on the eve of annual talks of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"We are moving forward ... in conducting probably joint patrols," Philippines government official Jesus Dureza said in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, adding that they could be coordinated, cross-border patrols.

"You cannot bring in investment in that area if the level of security, the confidence in security is not that high. We have to address this," Dureza said.

The four countries also agreed to consider joint investments in energy to prevent a supply crunch in the so-called East Asian Growth Area (EAGA) bordering the four nations. Dureza said Indonesia proposed that the EAGA nations -- one of ASEAN's poorer subregions -- step up cooperation to ensure sufficient fuel reserves in the area.

Indonesia has recently become a net importer of oil and gas while the region's other majors producers, Malaysia and Brunei, are straying into deeper and deeper water to find new reserves to replace production from maturing fields closer to home. The Philippines is also a net importer of oil and gas. -- Reuters

;AFP;IVY; ANPAu..r.. ASEAN-Health-flu-Thailand No bird flu mutation in Thailand, health ministry says JP/11/ASEAN

Thai govt says no bird flu mutation

THAILAND: Thai public health authorities rejected suggestions on Sunday there was uncertainty about the latest bird flu fatality or that the virus had mutated into an easily transmissible form.

Thai-language newspapers quoted an agricultural official on Sunday as saying he was "worried" about how a five-year-old boy who died on Dec. 7 contracted bird flu, as the H5N1 virus was not found in chickens near the boy's house.

All 14 people who have died of bird flu in Thailand contracted the disease after coming into contact with sick chickens, the public health ministry said in a statement.

Each person was "infected with the virus after touching chickens or chicken dung inside or outside their houses," Kumnuan Unguchusak, the Department of Disease Control's director of epidemiology, said in the statement

"The Department of Medical Sciences has confirmed that there has been no mutation found" in Thailand.

Health authorities fear that the virus could eventually mutate into a form that passes easily between humans. -- AFP

;DPA;IVY; ANPAu..r.. ASEAN-Laos-Terrorism Lao government warn New Year sabotage JP/11/ASEAN

Lao govt warns of New Year's sabotage

LAOS: The communist government of Laos warned its citizens to be vigilant and on the lookout for terrorist activities during New Year's celebrations, a radio report said on Sunday.

In an early morning broadcast over the Voice of the Lao Nation, the president of the Lao United Front, Sisawat Kaewboonthan, warned there were enemies in the country and reminded all citizens to be aware for sabotage and terrorist activities.

"The New Year's celebrations of the minorities shows the communist party has an enlightened policy of national concord," the president said. "But every minority in Laos must be aware who the enemies are."

Laos has a simmering low-key insurgency of the minority Hmong mountain tribe who fought on the side of the U.S. in the CIA's secret Indochina war. Since the U.S. defeat in 1975 over 100,000 Hmong have fled to America. -- DPA