ASEAN fighting terrorism: Arroyo

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, OCT. 31. The Association of South-East Asian (ASEAN) nations along with China, South Korea and Japan are to issue an anti-terrorist declaration during a summit meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, next week, the Philippine President, Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has said.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Ms. Arroyo said the Philippines was circulating the first draft of the declaration ahead of the ``ASEAN+3'' meeting.

``All the ASEAN countries are in this fight against terrorism,'' Ms. Arroyo stated. ``Of course, each one gives its contribution in accordance with its own specific constraints at home.''

The Philippines has recently invited U.S. military advisers to help in the battle against the Abu Sayyaf bandits operating in the southern Philippines. The Abu Sayyaf is said to have links with the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

Ms. Arroyo, who has met with the top Chinese leadership, including the President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, said she had referred to the dispute over the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by the Philippines and China, among others. She claimed that Beijing and Manila had agreed to put aside their dispute over the islands in the South China Sea. ``China is willing to shelve the issue in favour of joint development,'' she said. The Spratlys are believed to be oil- rich.

As far as the terrorism issue is concerned, there is little doubt that the Philippines is keen on taking the lead in joint efforts to deal with the problem - given the very real problems with the Abu Sayyaf.

The invitation to American military advisers by the Philippines is an indicator of the kind of lengths the Arroyo administration is prepared to go in its battle against the Abu Sayyaf.

Writing in the International Herald Tribune today, Admiral Denis Blair, head of the American Pacific Command, said: ``The United States is increasing efforts to help the Philippines defeat the Abu Sayyaf group, and has increased dialogue with other Asia- Pacific nations to increase the capabilities of their armed forces and security services to deal with terrorists.''

Admiral Blair claimed that the Al-Qaeda, along with its ``terrorist ally'', the Abu Sayyaf, were on the run. ``Security forces need to keep up the pressure to ensure that they can never reach a sanctuary to rebuild their network and launch future attacks.''

``Defeating terrorism requires expanded financial measures to stop their flow of funds; enhanced cooperation on customs, immigration and aviation safety standards, increased information sharing on the movement of suspected terrorists and members of groups that advocate violence; and better cooperation among law enforcement and security forces to combat terrorism,'' the Admiral said.

``The (anti-terrorist) campaign will involve many efforts. Many nations have offered to participate in patrolling the Malacca Straits to ensure that terrorists cannot attack shipping there. Many are following leads to ferret out terrorist cells, training camps and finances,'' he added.

Separately, the Indonesian Government is likely to issue a presidential decree on anti-terrorism which will allow the Government to access bank accounts of individuals and groups believed to have links to international terrorists. ``Our intelligence people are launching an investigation of several bank accounts which allegedly have links with terrorists and soon we (the Government) will issue the anti- terrorism decree,'' the Indonesian Information Minister, Mr. Syamsul Mu'arif, said in Jakarta.

``Issuing the decree is necessary so that we don't violate the banking law,'' he stated.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Bush attends world series despite new threats
Next     : Treason law to deter Muslim 'jehadis'