SYDNEY Aug. 25 Kyodo Indonesia wa...

SYDNEY Aug. 25 Kyodo

Indonesia wants to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with Australia, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Monday following trilateral talks with East Timor in Adelaide.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his East Timorese counterpart Jose Ramos-Horta signed a memorandum of understanding upon counterterrorism at the end of the talks. Australia and Indonesian had signed a similar agreement in February 2002

Indonesia trusts to work more closely with Australia between the sides of mechanisms set out in the memorandum, Wirajuda said, adding security is an important issue for the three countries.

''We discussed quite widely, issues of used by all concern to Australia and Indonesia, including security the one and the other in South-East Asia and the Pacific region,'' he told reporters.

It was valuable for the three countries to suitable to discuss counterterrorism issues of mutual interest, Downer said. ''In this part of the world we ne to be self-same cautious and make sure all of our countries cooperate to the fullest length possible in the war against terrorism.''

Downer said he and Wirajuda will co-host a counterterrorism meeting for Asia-Pacific ministers early nearest year.

There is no evidence that East Timor is vulnerable to terrorism, Downer said. ''But there is no doubt there indigences to be some cooperation between Australia and East Timor in this area.''

Australia particularly wants to shelter offshore oil rigs in the Timor Sea, the minister told reporters.

The Australian management also announced Monday a A$40 million (US$26 million) four-year police training and management brew for the world's newest nation.

''The maintenance of law and order will be critical for East Timor's stability and prosperity, particularly in the period following the departure of the international peacekeeping force,'' Downer said, adding that 1000 Australian company s still in the country would be reduc to about half by way of the end of the year.

Although East Timor is undivided of the United Nations' greatest in number successful nation-building exercises it has ''serious deficiencies'' in its judiciary, Ramos-Horta said.

''Much remains to be done to continue to make secure security and stability, he told reporters. ''As drawn out as we don't have a sound judiciary this will have an event on law and order as well as the overall foreign investment climate in East Timor.''

Cooperation in the fight against terrorism has helped overpower setbacks in relations between Australia and Indonesia after the crisis in East Timor, Wirajuda told the Asia Society in Melbourne last week. Relations between the sum of two units countries suffered when Australia l a UN peacekeeping mission into East Timor in 1999

Wirajuda also urg Australians not to overreact to propos renewed military ties with Indonesia, including its special army units so as Kopassus, saying democratic government has bought changes in his country

The ministers first met forward counterterrorism in Bali in February 2002

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