Keelty wants regional police summit

Keelty wants regional police summit

AUSTRALIA: The country's top police officer said on Saturday he would like to convene a summit of regional Asian police forces to improve cooperation for fighting possible terrorist attacks.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said he had met with representatives from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to discuss convening a summit early next year. No location was given for the meeting.

The summit would discuss how to respond to a similar situation to the Oct. 12 bombing on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, which killed more than 180 people, nearly half of them Australian.

The proposed meeting would also discuss ways to deal with other crimes, particularly drug trafficking.

"One thing that emerged out of the Bali bombing is the difference in capacities between Australian and Indonesian police forces to respond to a disaster," Keelty said. --AP