Asia-Pacific leaders launch crackdown on terror

Asia-Pacific leaders launch crackdown on terror

David Williams, Agence France-Presse, Los Cabos, Mexico

Asia-Pacific leaders were set to wrap up a summit here on Sunday
(Monday in Jakarta) with a crackdown on terror, adopting a slew
of new security measures and condemning a tide of violence from a
Bali car bomb massacre to a bloody Moscow hostage drama.

In a crucial mini-summit here on Saturday, the United States,
Japan and South Korea also demanded that North Korea immediately
halt its quest for nuclear weapons.

While erecting a stronger anti-terror shield, lining up behind
U.S. President George W. Bush, leaders of the 21-member Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum promised to protect the
heart of the global economy -- the free flow of goods and people.

That promise, a central aim of the forum since the Sept. 11
attacks, appeared to be under threat as the leaders met, guarded
by warships, an air exclusion zone and a 3,000-strong security
force.

Bloodshed in the Moscow theater hostage siege forced President
Vladimir Putin to pull out of this gathering, a Bali nightclub
blast killed 190 people two weeks ago, and a spate of bomb
attacks rocked the Philippines this month.

"President Bush and other APEC leaders issued a statement
condemning in the strongest terms the recent terrorist attacks in
Bali, Indonesia, the Philippines and Moscow, and pledging to
accelerate counter-terrorism cooperation," the White House said.

Bush, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi joined other leaders in agreeing to a
security response drawn up by the United States.

Known as the Secure Trade in the APEC region (STAR)
initiative, it aimed to enhance security while increasing trade,
the White House said.

Under the plan, APEC economies will:
-- Introduce new baggage screening procedures and equipment in
all APEC member airports by 2005.
-- Reinforce flight deck doors of passenger aircraft by April
2003.
-- Identify and examine high risk sea containers, providing
advance electronic information to customs, port, and shipping
officials.
-- Implement by 2005 common standards for electronics customs
reporting.
-- Promote ship and port security plans by July 2004.
-- Install automatic identification systems on certain ships by
2004.

North Korea's bombshell announcement that it is developing
nuclear weapons spurred Bush, Koizumi and South Korean President
Kim Dae-jung to present a united public face against Pyongyang.

"North Korea's relations with the international community now
rest on North Korea's prompt and visible actions to dismantle its
program to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons,"
they said in a statement.

The allies called on the unpredictable communist state led by
Kim Jong-il to dismantle its recently revealed enriched uranium
program in a "prompt and verifiable manner" but held out no
specific sanctions should it fail to do so.

Senior U.S. officials have refused to rule out the eventual
use of economic or other sanctions. Japan and South Korea, both
pursuing dialog with North Korea, want to press Pyongyang with
words, not action.

On the horizon lies the threat of a U.S. war with Iraq to
force President Saddam Hussein to throw down suspected weapons of
mass destruction.

"If the UN won't act, if Saddam Hussein won't disarm, we will
lead a coalition to disarm him," Bush vowed at a meeting with
Mexican President Vicente Fox.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters it was
time for the United Nations to wrap up the debate on a tough,
U.S.-drafted resolution aimed at disarming Saddam and proceed to
a vote.

Russia and France oppose a U.S.-authored draft resolution
because they say it provides an automatic trigger for attack in
case of non-compliance; China has not backed the measure; Mexico,
a current Security Council member, has been cool to the
initiative.

Bush later met Indonesia's President Megawati Soekarnoputri
and told her he would consider increased U.S. aid to help battle
militants tied to global terrorism.

He said that the Bali blast "showed the reach" of Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda network, a U.S. official said.

Business leaders warned APEC not to wreck the economy in their
fight to stamp out terrorism.

"We must work together to ensure security against terrorism.
We need however to ensure that in pursuing common security, we do
not sacrifice the economic openness which is the basis of our
economic prosperity," said a statement issued by the APEC
Business Advisory Council.