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SE Asia forms alliance to fight JI
The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have begun discussions to establish a line of defense against terror groups and sea pirates along their common sea borders in Southeast Asia.

Defense officials of the three countries sought to launch the line of defense, dubbed "Coast Watch South," at the soonest possible time to deter piracy and restrict the movement of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants along the countries’ common sealanes.

The defense program will be established around the vast expanse of the Sulu-Sulawesi seas to protect borders and check on all sea transport passing through the common sealanes of the three countries, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. said.

Cruz was accompanied by top military officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations attending the fourth ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) in Manila.

Cruz explained to President Arroyo the initial defense agreement among the three countries during a courtesy call made by the officials at Malacañang last Thursday.

Although the "Coast Watch South" will strengthen and enhance the anti-terrorism campaign in the region, Cruz said it is not an indication of any imminent large-scale terrorist attacks in the Philippines similar to the recent bombings in Bali, Indonesia.

"We don’t see any specific terror threats in the Philippines," Cruz declared.

"In fact, comparatively, we’ve caught in the Philippines many of these terrorists," he told the delegation.

Emerging from a meeting with the President, Cruz explained to The STAR the planned setup for "Coast Watch South," which will run under the existing joint border patrol agreements and the trilateral anti-terrorism pact among the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Cruz initially identified two routes where "Coast Watch South" will operate.

He named the sealanes along Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga going to Sandakan, Malaysia, and those in Glan, Sarangani going to Manado, Indonesia.

"We are trying to develop the mechanisms for this Coast Watch South under our cooperation with Malaysia and Indonesia to prevent the entry of criminals and terrorists like the JI in our southern border," Cruz said.

"Under these mechanisms, any vessels which stray outside the joint official sealanes will be intercepted to check on possible JI terrorists onboard and other suspicious passengers and loads," he explained.

Cruz said the Philippine government has been tasked to draft the defense mechanism.

He said an inter-governmental body from the Philippine Navy, the Coast Guard, the Bureau of Immigration, the police and military and other concerned agencies are now working on the draft of the mechanisms.

Cruz said the Philippine Air Force (PAF) will provide the "eye in the sky" with long-range patrol aircraft bought under its six-year P5-billion capability upgrade program.

The interagency body will sit down with their counterparts from Malaysia and Indonesia to draft the Coast Watch South cooperation agreement based on the Philippine experience on its southern backdoor.

At present, the Philippine Navy operates four "coast watch" stations in Mindanao: at Tinaka Point in Sarangani, Calarian in Zamboanga, Bato-bato in Tawi-Tawi and Taganak in Turtle Islands. A new station is being planned for Balut Island, also in Sarangani.

Cruz said the Philippine initiative to widen the Coast Watch South was taken up by Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga with his Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts participating in the ACDFIM in Manila.

The four-day ACDFIM that opened last Wednesday has gathered military and intelligence chiefs from all 10 ASEAN member-countries to exchange views on various security issues in the region.

The delegates have discussed their common concerns over the continuing threat of the JI and the Abu Sayyaf in the region.

Discussions mainly focused on enhancing intelligence and information sharing for counterterrorism.

Delegates also discussed the possibility of enhancing the capabilities of ASEAN militaries to address regional concerns, such as the impact of natural disasters like the recent tsunami and the threat of bird flu.

They also agreed to increase the conduct of confidence-building measures in promoting greater understanding and defusing tensions with neighbors in the region through the establishment of direct military-to-military level communication.

The ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces first met with Cruz in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City before they proceeded to Malacañang to pay a courtesy call on the President. During their visit to the Defense Department, views were exchanged on various topics, including the progress of reconstruction efforts in places devastated by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami.

The group also shared best practices in the management of the militaries within the region. The participants also received a briefing on the ongoing transformation of the AFP under the Philippine Defense Reform (PDR) program.

Aside from Senga, the participants at the 4th ACDFIM included Gen. Endriarto Sutarto, chief of defense of Indonesia; Admiral Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Anwar Bin HJ Nor, chief of defense of Malaysia; Maj. Gen. Pehin Dato Haji Jalbi, chief of defense of Brunei; Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, deputy supreme defense commander of Thailand; Lt. Gen. Nguyen Khac Nghien, deputy chief of the general staff of Vietnam.

Brig. Gen. Champaphanh Bousieng, vice chief of the general staff of Laos and Brig. Gen. Bernard Richard Kok Kian Tan, director of the joint intelligence department of Singapore also joined the other military intelligence chiefs of participating ASEAN nations.

The fourth ACDFIM was preceded by the ASEAN Military Intelligence Informal Meeting (MIIM). The MIIM was attended by the ASEAN military intelligence chiefs and served as a venue for intelligence-gathering cooperation, focusing on non-traditional security issues of regional significance.

The ACDFIM was the brainchild of former Indonesian armed forces chief Admiral Widodo Adisutjipto and had its first informal meeting in Jakarta in 2001.

The most recent ACDFIM meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Jan. 15 to 19.

The forum seeks to foster greater understanding and closer cooperation among the chiefs of defense forces and the militaries of the participating ASEAN countries through informal discussions.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-11-11
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=134760