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