MALAYSIA: MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES SIGN ANTI-TERRORISM AGREEMENT IN KUALA LUMPUR.
Record ID:
647043
MALAYSIA: MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES SIGN ANTI-TERRORISM AGREEMENT IN KUALA LUMPUR.
- Title: MALAYSIA: MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES SIGN ANTI-TERRORISM AGREEMENT IN KUALA LUMPUR.
- Date: 7th May 2002
- Summary: (U4) KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (MAY 7, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. LV/CU: MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL AND KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE; CU MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL AIGN (2 SHOTS) 0.07 2. MV/GV/PAN/GV: MEDIA; DELEGATES ARRIVE; AUDIENCE AT LUNCHEON TALK (3 SHOTS) 0.22 3. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO SAYING "To help us in our fight against terrorism, the U.S. is providing assistance in the training of our forces and the sharing of intelligence and in the supply of some hardware. We have been building our national edifice, as you can see, stone by stone." 0.45 4. GV/PAN: PAN ARROYO SPEAKING AS AUDIENCE APPLAUD 1.12 5. GV: PUTRAJAYA ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE 1.16 6. MV/PAN/MV: ARROYO AND MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR MOHAMAD WALK TO SIGNING ROOM AND GREET INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HASSAN WIRAJUDA; MV OFFICIALS (2 SHOTS) 1.30 7. GV: INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HASSAN WIRAJUDA, MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SYED HAMID ALBAR AND PHILIPPINES INTERIOR SECRETARY JOEY D. LINA JR SIT DOWN TO SIGN TREATY 1.38 8. MV/PAN/MCU: WIRAJUDA, SYED HAMID ALBAR AND JOEY D. LINA JR SIGN TREATY; MV MAHATHIR AND ARROYO WITNESSING THE SIGNING; SCU SYED HAMID ALBAR SIGNING TREATY; SCU JOEY D. LINA JR SIGNING TREATY (4 SHOTS) 2.08 9. GV: MINISTERS EXCHANGING COPIES OF TREATY 2.27 10. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HASSAN WIRAJUDA SAYING "We formalised formal contacts in one umbrella agreement to cover quite a number of areas of cooperation." 2.54 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd May 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
- Country: Malaysia
- Reuters ID: LVA3KTYHZLDUG0LX56JGWRAGMCV0
- Story Text: Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have signed a
pact on to counter cross-border terrorism and break a militant
network they say is bent on carving out an Islamic state from
the Malay Archipelago.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and visiting
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo witnessed the
signing of the trilateral accord by foreign ministers from the
three countries on Tuesday (May 7, 2002).
Earlier, Arroyo delivered a keynote address on foreign
direct investment at the Pacific Basin Economic Council
business summit in the Malaysian capital city Kuala Lumpur.
The diminutive president touched on the war against terror
in her country.
"To help us in our fight against terrorism, the U.S. is
providing assistance in the training of our forces and the
sharing of intelligence and in the supply of some hardware. We
have been building our national edifice, as you can see, stone
by stone," Arroyo said.
She then met Mahathir at the new administrative capital of
Putrajaya for a private 30-minute bilateral meeting before
witnessing the trilateral accord.
A statement issued after the signing said the three
countries had agreed to coordinate security operations to
fight terrorism and transnational crime within their
territories.
"We formalised formal contacts in one umbrella agreement
to cover quite a number of areas of cooperation," Indonesian
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told journalists after
signing.
Militancy among Muslims in Southeast Asia came under the
microscope after Washington led a global war on terrorism in
the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the United
States.
Malaysia has been at the forefront, arresting dozens of
suspects, while U.S. troops are helping Filipinos combat Abu
Sayyaf guerrillas and rescue an American missionary couple
held for almost a year.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, has drawn
criticism over a lack of arrests although neighbours, notably
Singapore, say the ringleaders of a network are based there.
The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) agreed last November to co-operate to fight terrorism.
But the trilateral pact, which follows four months of
negotiations, formalises security coordination between three
member countries with strong ethnic links, large Muslim
populations and porous borders.
Mahathir goes to Washington next week to receive thanks
from U.S. President George W. Bush for Malaysia's support for
the war on terror.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said last week
the pact would also allow joint anti-terrorism exercises as
well as combined operations to hunt suspected terrorists.
Malaysia and Indonesia are moderate Islamic states while
the predominantly Catholic Philippines has a sizeable Muslim
community in the southern part of the country bordering
Malaysia.
The mostly Chinese, non-Muslim island state of Singapore,
wedged between Malaysia and Indonesia is not a signatory to
the pact, but says it is willing to step up cooperation with
its neighbours.
Thailand, and possibly Myanmar, may join the pact later,
officials said.
Singapore arrested members of a militant cell in December
that it said was planning attacks on U.S. targets on the
island. It discovered links with al Qaeda, the network run by
Osama bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in the September
11 attacks.
In April, Manila seized two Muslim guerrillas they said
had been trained in bomb-making in Malaysia.
Indonesia says it cannot make arrests without hard
evidence, and since switching to democratic rule a few years
ago it no longer has the security laws that allow some of its
neighbours to detain suspects indefinitely without trial.
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