Asia strengthens anti-terror fight

Asian ministers want to prevent another Bali bombing

Senior Asia-Pacific ministers are claiming to have made real progress in a meeting in Bali on the threat from international terrorism.

The closing communiqué contained 17 proposals, mostly focusing on law enforcement, legal frameworks and sharing information.

Australia and Indonesia also announced plans for a multi-million-dollar counter-terrorism centre.

The ministers were told further attacks in the region were "inevitable".

"This meeting has achieved more concrete results than earlier meetings because we've got results on law enforcement, legal framework, information sharing and money laundering," said Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer agreed.

"This has been an historic meeting. This gives real momentum to the campaign against terrorism," he said.

The two-day summit, attended by some 16 Asian states as well as representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States Attorney General, John Ashcroft, agreed to set up two working groups to bolster co-ordination on security matters.

One will look at ways to strengthen the capacity of regional police forces, the other will look at legal issues, such as extradition treaties, or in some cases, the lack of them.

In addition, Australia pledged almost $30m for a counter-terrorism centre which will be based in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. It will have a mandate to provide training and expertise for the region.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the centre would have a forensic laboratory and the capability to train regional counter-terror units.

Close co-operation

Indonesia and Australia have worked closely together since the October 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali, that killed 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians.

Their combined investigations have led to the arrest of around 35 people in connection with the attacks.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Downer laid a wreath at the site of the bombing.

He said the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant group blamed for the attack had been weakened by a string of arrests, but not disabled. "Key operatives are still at large," he told ministers on Wednesday.

Mr Downer said militants were training and recruiting in the region, using "legitimate fronts to pursue barbaric ends".

"We have disrupted the Jemaah Islamiah network through the capture and detention of well over 200 members, but we have not disabled it," he said.

The comments echoed those of a report issued on Tuesday by the International Crisis Group, which warned that JI posed a long-term security threat to Indonesia, and also warned of the risk posed by smaller, more radical breakaway groups.