Separatist violence threatens Southeast Asian stability: U.S.
Separatist violence threatens Southeast Asian stability: U.S.
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The top U.S. military officer in Asia urged
greater international cooperation on Thursday to check
"lawlessness" by violent separatists in Indonesia and the
Philippines.
Adm. Dennis C. Blair, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific
Command, said that insurgencies problems in the two nations did
not pose a military threat to neighbors but still "was not good
for the rule of law."
"There are areas of lawlessness in this part of the world
which countries in the region and those of us outside, but who
care for this part of the world, should cooperate to eliminate,"
Blair told a news conference at the end of a three-day visit.
Blair noted that violence by extremist Muslim separatists in
the southern Philippines had spread beyond national borders, with
fighters of the Abu Sayyaf group twice crossing into Malaysian
territorial waters last year and seizing Malaysians and foreign
tourists hostage.
Blair said that the United States was working with the
Philippines to built counter-terrorism capabilities - the country
has been wracked by the southern insurgency and a wave of
mysterious bombings in Manila - as well as carrying out more
traditional joint military exercises.
The U.S. Army has been cooperating with the Indonesian armed
forces to push forward reforms, Blair said. He did not specify
what they were.
Indonesia has been beset by separatist and sectarian violence
in several provinces and the army has been accused of variously
of taking sides and carrying out human-rights violations to
suppress its foes.
Blair cited narcotics trafficking in the region as a growing
problem that needed a multilateral approach. Southeast Asia is a
major producer of opium and heroin and a key waystation on
international smuggling routes.
"Countries in the region and those who cooperate with them
should work against that," Blair said.
On Thursday, Blair held talks with Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad, his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, foreign and defense
officials.
Blair said the visit had enabled both sides to update each
other on issues such as narcotics, piracy and the spread of
weapons.
Malaysian defense officials said the discussions had also
focussed on increasing joint military exercises between both
countries.
Blair said that the United States would continue to respond to
any request for assistance to check piracy in the Straits of
Malacca. But most incidents were sea robberies and not ship
hijacking and took place mainly in territorial waters, he said.
The International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy
attacks, said in a study last year that political and economic
turmoil in Indonesia has made the Straits of Malacca, between
Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, and surrounding waters more
risky than ever for ships.