SE Asian nations tighten security after Jakarta blast
SE Asian nations tighten security after Jakarta blast
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok/Manila
Southeast Asian nations have beefed up security in their countries amid fears of possible terrorist attacks following a bomb blast that ripped through a luxurious Jakarta hotel.
Malaysia has tightened security at its ports, marine police said on Wednesday.
The tighter security measures include patrolling isolated waterways and closely checking all cargo ships and their crew, including identifying their political ideologies and religions, Marine Commander Muhamad Muda was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
"Previously, the marine police only concentrated on the waters, now we will also focus on the ports," he said.
The measures were necessary to check if ships carried any hazardous materials and explosives that could be dangerous if they landed in the hands of terrorists, he said.
"The strict security is also due to the increasing number of merchant ships using our ports," he said.
Thailand on Wednesday ordered its national agencies to beef up security in the wake of the Jakarta hotel car bombing and said soldiers and civilians would also be used in a bid to keep the kingdom safe.
Deputy prime minister overseeing security Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said he had told agencies to up their focus on security.
"Violence is now higher particularly in our region and we could not care more. I have ordered every agency to be more strict on security. We promise every agency will be stricter on security," he told reporters.
"For keeping security tight, we won't use only police officers, but also soldiers and civilians," he said, declining to elaborate.
"We will do our best. We also have volunteers who have been trained... to inform authorities (about suspicious actions). Now we have to keep watch on the situation," he added.
Last month Thailand said it stepped up security around foreign embassies, schools and tourist zones in light of intelligence reports warning of a terrorist attack.
In June, Thai police smashed an alleged plot to bomb embassies and tourist spots in the kingdom. Authorities arrested three Thai Muslims suspected of belonging to the regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and of planning the bomb attacks.
The three men -- a doctor, an Islamic teacher and his son -- are accused of conspiring with a Singaporean JI member to launch the attack during October's APEC Summit, when leaders from 21 nations will gather here.
Philippine embassies in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, have been ordered to boost their security after a deadly bomb attack in Jakarta that claimed up to 14 lives, an official said on Wednesday.
"Our embassy on Jakarta is on high alert. We have increased security there. We advise (diplomatic personnel) to take extra precautions," Foreign Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said.
Other embassies in the region had also been instructed to tighten security, Ebdalin said, adding that "terrorists could strike anywhere, even in the least vulnerable places."
He remarked that the embassy in Jakarta already had special security arrangements with Indonesian authorities following a bomb blast outside the Philippine ambassador's home in Indonesia in August 2000.
The blast killed two people and injured 21 others, including ambassador Leonides Caday. Indonesian authorities arrested a suspect whom they said carried out the attack in retaliation for Philippine military operations against local Muslim rebels.
Fears of new attacks in the region were renewed after the bomb blast outside the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday which the Red Cross said claimed 14 lives and left 152 others injured. Muslim extremists are widely suspected to have been behind the attack.
Philippines Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said the terrorists were "sadly mistaken if they think that such attacks will weaken the common resolve of nations to fight terror".