RI, Thailand step up anti-terrorism drive

RI, Thailand step up anti-terrorism drive

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and Thailand stepped up their campaign against
terrorism on Thursday, agreeing to share intelligence information
in order to rid the region of criminal activity and terrorism.

"One of the important issues we discussed included
intelligence cooperation to counter terrorism," President
Megawati Soekarnoputri said in a joint press conference with
visiting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the Merdeka Palace
on Thursday.

"We are trying to solidify the anti-terrorism movement among
ASEAN countries including Thailand and Indonesia," Megawati
added.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
-- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- signed in
November 2001 an agreement to work together to stamp out cross-
border terrorism.

Malaysia and Singapore have recently arrested several people
for alleged involvement in terrorism-related activities, most of
whom are believed to have been trained in al-Qaeda terrorist
training camps in Afghanistan.

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said this month
that international Muslim extremists could link up with Islamic
militants fighting Christians in Poso, Central Sulawesi and Ambon
in Maluku.

Indonesian officials, however, have denied any existence of
international terrorist groups in Indonesia, insisting that no
evidence has been found so far that the al-Qaeda network, blamed
by the United States for the Sept. 11 attacks there, is operating
in Indonesia.

Megawati said during the press conference that ASEAN members
should exert concerted efforts in fighting against terrorism in
the region.

"In fighting terrorism, we will continue making efforts so
that this matter can be strengthened among members of ASEAN," she
said.

Prime Minister Thaksin, meanwhile, said that Indonesia and
Thailand have achieved the purpose of "reaffirming our strategic
alliance in the South East Asian region."

Commenting on the anti-terrorism cooperation, Minister for
Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said Indonesia was still
processing an anti-terrorism law, while the agreement was reached
last year in Bangkok, where both countries agreed to combat
weapons smuggling.

Last year, Thaksin assured President Megawati that Thailand
would not allow the use of its soil as a base for terrorist
groups that would threaten the security of neighboring countries.

Thaksin's comments came after a report surfaced that rebels in
Aceh were using Southern Thailand as a base for weapons
smuggling.

Thaksin arrived here on Thursday for a two-day state visit
aimed at bolstering bilateral ties, especially in the field of
trade and information.

His entourage includes deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister Somkid Satusripitak, Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai, Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik, Minister of
Industry Suriya Jungrungreangkit and the deputy Agriculture and
Cooperatives Minister Prapat Panyachatirak.

On Friday, Thaksin is scheduled to meet with People's
Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and House of
Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung before he flies back to
Thailand in the afternoon.

Megawati said she and Thaksin also discussed sea boundaries,
especially the need for the borders of the exclusive economic
zones to be clearly defined.

"In order to halt smuggling activities, establishing a clear
sea border was also stressed in the meeting," Megawati said.

Indonesian authorities have arrested scores of Thai fisherman
in the past year for illegal fishing.

Prime Minister Thaksin suggested that ministers from both
countries "meet each other more often and even discuss the issues
on the phone so that we can get things done faster with a
sincerity on both sides."

Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi said that Thaksin
called for intensified trade relations in the rubber industry as
the two countries are major rubber producers.

"There are many things (in the trade relations) that must be
fixed in order to raise the international rubber price," Rini
told reporters.

Indonesian, Thai and Malay authorities met in Bali in December
of last year and signed an agreement to cut output by four
percent and exports by 10 percent in an effort to increase ailing
rubber prices.

In the meeting, Thailand also expressed its interest in
participating in the establishment of a coal-generated
electricity plant as they had a majority stake in six coal mines
in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a
culture, education and information agreement by Indonesian
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and his Thai counterpart
Surakiart Sathirathai.