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

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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

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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