Rumsfeld fears terrorist attacks in SE Asia waters

Rumsfeld fears terrorist attacks in SE Asia waters

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday he hoped
U.S. forces would be hunting terrorists in Southeast Asia "pretty
soon," warning that Islamic extremists are targeting moderate
Muslim states the world over.

Rumsfeld made the remarks as he visited marines and sailors
aboard the helicopter carrier USS Essex against a backdrop of oil
tankers and freighters that ply the Strait of Malacca, gateway
for a third of the world's trade.

"When are we going to start hunting some terrorists in this
theater?" a marine asked Rumsfeld.

"Well, I would hope pretty soon," the secretary replied.

"We simply cannot wait for another attack and expect to defend
against it. We have to go out and find those terrorist networks
and the people financing them, and countries providing a safe
haven for them.

"It is a tough thing to do."

Rumsfeld offered no details but the comment comes amid U.S.
and Singaporean efforts to improve maritime security in the
strait, mainly through better intelligence sharing.

Rumsfeld, who arrived here on Thursday for only his second
visit to east Asia as defense secretary, is scheduled to address
an international security conference here on Saturday.

He is also due to meet with counterparts from countries around
the region, including South Korea, Japan and Australia, on the
sidelines of the Asia Security Conference, which begins on Friday
evening.

Among the issues likely to be raised besides terrorism are
U.S. plans for a global repositioning of U.S. forces.

About half the world's oil supplies move through the narrow
channel on the way to markets in Japan, China and South Korea,
making it a tempting target for Islamic militants seeking to
destabilize the industrialized world.

Singapore has consistently led warnings that the Malacca and
Singapore straits are extremely vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Increasing piracy in Southeast Asian waters, the
disappearances of tugboats and last year's kidnapping of a
commercial ship's captain have fueled fears terrorists may be
planning to hijack vessels for a maritime version of September
11.

But the initiative to increase security aroused controversy
after the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Admiral Thomas
Fargo, suggested in April that one option under consideration was
putting marines and special operations forces aboard high speed
vessels in the strait.

Malaysia, which with Indonesia and Singapore straddle the
Malacca Strait, has sharply opposed the use of outside forces.

Rumsfeld has sought to steer clear of the controversy, telling
reporters on the flight here from Washington that Fargo's
testimony to Congress had been "misreported."

"We're in the process of trying to unravel all of that. It is
in its early stages. They are in a consultation mode. They will
be discussing it with various countries in the region," he said
of regional maritime security plans.

Aboard the Essex, Rumsfeld emphasized intelligence sharing as
crucial to defeating the maritime threat.

"I think the fact that there's not a lot of publicity about
what's happening out here may be kind of misleading," he said.

"Because there is pressure being put on terrorists in this
part of the world every day by the close cooperation we have, for
example with our wonderful friends here in Singapore."

Rumsfeld said Islamic radicals were bent on undermining
moderate Islamic states.

"A small minority are attempting to hijack that religion away
from the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims and in the
process drive the West and progress out of those countries and
out of their lives," he said.

"They are not going to succeed."

At another point Rumsfeld said: "They hope and they are making
efforts to destabilize the moderate Muslim countries everywhere
across the globe."