SE Asia faces delicate task in terrorism war

SE Asia faces delicate task in terrorism war

Eileen Ng, Agence France-Presse, Phnom Penh

Southeast Asian nations have stepped up their war on terror with the expansion of a regional security pact and fresh cooperation with China but the task ahead remains difficult and delicate, analysts and diplomats said on Wednesday.

In a symbolic gesture of support to Indonesia, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to gather in Bali for their summit next October on the first anniversary of the carnage that killed more than 190 people.

Until then, the 10-member group will flex its security muscles with a raft of activities, from a joint counter-terrorism exercise to the launch of a regional training center.

"ASEAN has definitely become more unified on the terrorism issue," ASEAN's incoming secretary-general Ong Keng Yong told AFP.

"At the political level, there is a strong commitment to deal with it in a very assertive way, no more waffling around. The message is that the leaders are very serious and have no doubts about what they need to do."

ASEAN leaders renewed their resolve to intensify efforts to "prevent, counter and suppress" terrorist groups in the region at the end of a two-day annual summit here Tuesday.

They also urged Western governments not to play to the terrorists' agenda by issuing security alerts warning against travel in Southeast Asia without established and substantial evidence.

ASEAN leaders forged a new security agreement with rising economic power China to fight terrorism and transnational crimes at their summit.

Thailand meanwhile, acceded to a regional pact focused on sharing intelligence, resources and personnel to fight terrorism, with Brunei saying it would also come aboard in the next few months.

The pact establishes guidelines for search and rescue operations, special communication channels, sharing of airline passenger lists and stronger border controls, officials said.

It already binds countries most exposed to terrorism: Indonesia grappling with separatist violence and now the Bali blast, the Philippines with Muslim extremists in the south, Malaysia where elements linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network have been detected, and Cambodia.

Singapore, which has detained 31 suspected militants, has refused to join and said it would rely instead on bilateral security arrangements.

Despite progress in its terror war, analysts noted there has been no push on Indonesia to take tougher action despite dissatisfaction from Singapore and Malaysia.

"On the surface, ASEAN seems more unified but it is moving gingerly. There is no consensus on how to deal with terrorism in Indonesia," said Andrew Tan, analyst with the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore.

"I am not convinced that the basis of multilateral cooperation exists in Southeast Asia because of differing national interests and inter-state conflicts," Tan said.

"It will be a difficult and delicate road ahead for ASEAN." President Megawati Soekarnoputri lacks the political will to crack the whip against terror groups because of fears of a Muslim backlash ahead of a general election in 2004, he added.

Megawati maintained that Bali was now safe and said efforts to bolster security ahead of next year's ASEAN summit would ensure security for heads of state and the island's population.

The expanded regional security group will hold its first major exercise in Manila in late December or early 2003, gathering security and law enforcement agencies from member nations to deal with a simulated terrorist attack.

Manila will also host a two-day conference from this Friday involving the United States and 16 other countries on anti- terrorism measures and tourism recovery. A regional meeting on money laundering and terrorist financing will take place in Bali in December.

In early 2003, Kuala Lumpur will launch a non-military training center to strengthen the region's capacity to deal with terrorist threats and an ASEAN ministerial summit on transnational crime involving China, Japan and South Korea will be held in Bangkok late next year.