U.S. military official visits Sabah

U.S. military official visits Sabah

MALAYSIA: The top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific region visited a remote Malaysian province on Tuesday that Washington says faces security risks from al-Qaeda-linked groups operating in the nearby southern Philippines.

Adm. Thomas Fargo was holding talks with Malaysia's military chief Gen. Zahidi Zainuddin and touring military facilities in Malaysia's Sabah state, on Borneo island, the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said.

The talks focused on "close, combined U.S.-Malaysian cooperation in defeating terrorism" and briefings on Malaysian security operations in the area, an embassy statement said.

Last month, the U.S. State Department reissued warnings to Americans in this predominantly Muslim country that terror attacks similar to last October's nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, were still possible in other Southeast Asian nations. --AP

;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-S'pore-rights Singapore defends detentions under internal security law JP/11/ASEAN

S'pore defends detentions under ISA law

SINGAPORE: Singapore defended on Tuesday the jailing of 31 suspected Islamic militants under a tough internal security law, refuting criticism from Amnesty International that it violates their right to a fair trial.

The London-based human rights watchdog said last week in its 2002 annual report that the Internal Security Act (ISA) "violates the right to a fair and public trial and the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law".

The 31 suspects, alleged to be members of the Southeast Asian terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), are accused of involvement in plots to blow up the U.S. Embassy, other foreign targets and vital public facilities in Singapore.

They have been held under the ISA since their arrests between December 2001 and August last year, following the September 2001 attacks in the U.S. --AFP

;DPA;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Japan-diplomacy Southeast Asian heads to visit Japan this month JP/11/ASEAN Southeast Asian heads to visit Japan

JAPAN: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri will visit Japan separately this month for talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Mahathir will begin a four-day visit on Tuesday and Arroyo will stay three days from Wednesday, the ministry said. The two will also speak at a Tokyo symposium.

Megawati will make a state visit to Japan from June 22 to June 25 for talks with Koizumi, the ministry said. --DPA

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-US-Myanmar-sanction Bush imposes sanctions on Colombia, Myanmar rebels JP/11/ASEAN

Sanctions imposed on Myanmar rebels

UNITED STATES: President George W. Bush barred U.S. banks on Monday from doing business with rebel armies in Myanmar (Burma) and Colombia as part of an expanded crackdown on what the White House called narco-terrorism.

The new sanctions were imposed under the 1999 "Kingpin Act", which targets "significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations and operatives".

For the first time, foreign groups were targeted for sanctions under the act, including Burma's United Wa State Army, an ethnic minority militia in northern Myanmar allied to the country's military rulers.

The action bars U.S. banks and financial institutions from doing business with the suspected drug traffickers and dealers, or with any businesses they control. Any American who does business with them could face up to 30 years' imprisonment and US$5 million in fines. --Reuters

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Philippines-rebel Philippines says captures Abu Sayyaf kidnapper JP/11/ASEAN

RP captures Abu Sayyaf kidnapper

PHILIPPINES: A middle-ranking leader of the Abu Sayyaf linked to the kidnapping of three Americans was captured on Tuesday in the southern Philippines, the military said.

Kalaw Jaljalis, who carries a 500,000-peso (US$9,400) bounty on his head, was seized in a remote village on the island of Jolo, a hotbed of banditry and insurgency.

The military said in a statement that Jaljalis stands charged with murder and dozens of counts of kidnapping.

Army Brig. Gen. Romeo Tolentino told reporters the Abu Sayyaf leader was involved in the kidnapping of missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and Guillermo Sobero, all Americans.

The Burnhams had been based in the Philippines for 15 years when they were kidnapped -- along with Sobero and 17 Filipinos -- from a resort on Palawan island in May 2001 while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary. Sobero and several of the Filipinos were later beheaded. Martin Burnham was killed during an army operation in June. --Reuters