SE Asia army chiefs seek cooperation

SE Asia army chiefs seek cooperation

THE PHILIPPINES: Senior military officers from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are due to meet on Friday to strengthen cooperation against terrorism and other security threats, officials said on Thursday.

Seven of the 10 heads of ASEAN defense forces had already begun to share information and experiences in dealing with non- traditional military threats such as drugs, piracy and natural disasters, said a senior Philippine defense official.

The military commanders from Cambodia, Myanmar and Singapore sent only representatives to the annual informal meeting that began in Indonesia in 2002. The other members of ASEAN are Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The sessions at a Manila hotel were closed to news media.

"These meetings are not coffee shop talks," the Philippine defense official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

But he dismissed speculation that ASEAN aimed to set up a security alliance similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or to revive the defunct South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). -- Reuters