Matori to meet PM Goh Chok Tong

Matori to meet PM Goh Chok Tong

A visit to Singapore Monday by Indonesia's defense minister Matori Abdul Djalil "underscores the excellent defense relations" between the two countries, the Singapore government said in a press release.

Officials would not disclose the main topics of discussions in meetings between Matori and Singaporean leaders. However, the threat of extremist Islamic groups scattered across Southeast Asia has brought regional defense officials into closer contact.

Matori's visit, which will include meetings with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Defense Minister Tony Tan, as well as a tour of a Singaporean military institute. It's one stop on a tour of 10 Southeast Asian countries.

The discovery of what appears to be a widespread network of al-Qaeda linked radical Muslim groups in Southeast Asia has convinced many in the region of the need to cooperate and share intelligence. However, Indonesia has been criticized for being slow to arrest alleged members of the network.

Dozens of suspected Muslim militants arrested recently in Malaysia and Singapore are thought to have ties to an Indonesia- based Muslim cleric, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Ba'asyir is the alleged leader of Jemaah Ismaliyah, an organization with cells in Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines.

Officials in Singapore have said that intelligence sharing with neighboring countries has become a priority since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. -- AP