New steps to fight terror

Long a chink in the armor in Southeast Asia's war against terror, Indonesia's move to set up a new counter-terrorism center with Australian backing will go a long way to addressing the problem. Previously hamstrung by lack of money, there are now hopes that the Indonesian police and intelligence agencies will be better equipped to monitor terrorist activity and make the region more secure.

Australia will spend US$30 million (S$50 million) over the next five years to establish the new agency in Jakarta to train police from Asia-Pacific countries in counter-terrorism skills as well as to track terrorists. One of the main aims of the counter- terrorism conference in Bali last week was to keep the campaign high on the agenda. The key message is that countries can ensure their own safety only when they do not let their guard down.

This means working closely with others not just to exchange intelligence, but also to overcome the institutional hurdles that limit collaboration on security issues. Steps are being taken in this direction. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer noted that the Bali conference got 'the Asia-Pacific region to think together as a broader region on how to handle this issue of terrorism'.

Much remains to be done. For starters, creating a common legal framework to fight terrorism will not be easy. It will take time to remove the institutional obstacles to extradition. Given the diversity of the legal systems in the region, it is best that knotty issues such as extradition be resolved at a bilateral level.

However desirable, a multilateral extradition treaty is not a realistic proposition at this juncture. But this should not prevent the Pacific Rim countries from exchanging timely intelligence and sharing evidence. The Bali conference has set up a working group to study the issues on jurisdiction.

New ideas, such as the proposal to create a legal framework to facilitate the prosecution of cross-border terrorist crimes in South-east Asia, should be explored.

While the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network has been crippled with the arrest of some 200 operatives, other key members are still at large and new attacks can be expected. To be sure, the Indonesians are painfully aware after the bombings in Bali and Jakarta that JI remains a dangerous threat. But there are fears that Indonesia is still not sufficiently focused in the war against the JI remnants because its political leaders do not want to be seen to be too tough on militant Islamic groups in an election year.

Anything that Jakarta does to remove the nagging doubts will boost its own security and regional confidence. On a practical level, Asia-Pacific countries can shore up their defenses by tightening up airport and maritime security, securing their borders, and stopping the movement of arms and cash by terrorists. Civilian targets can also be hardened with more protection.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore