MANILA, Jan. 14 Kyodo Southeast A...

MANILA, Jan. 14 Kyodo

Southeast Asian officials conven in Manila onward Tuesday for three days of drills to rehearse rejoinders to terror attacks and to discuss sharing of information to hinder the region from becoming a haven for international terrorists.

''We must fight, hinder neutralize and defeat these transnational crimes, including terrorism, in like manner that we can pursue and forward our regional development and continue our collective endeavors for peace and stability in public region,'' Philippine National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said.

Golez said at the opening of the Multilateral Simulation Exercise 2003 that officials from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand will take part in computer-based drills that will take place in the nearest couple of days.

The drills are to muscle and fat out a counterterrorism agreement signed in May last year at Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Cambodia and Thailand later acceded to the Agreement upon Information Exchange and Establishment of Communication Procedures

The agreement specifically calls for frames aimed at thwarting transnational crimes, including terrorism.

The circulating meeting is to expand the agreement, specifically onward how to facilitate exchanges of information, ''and thereby preventing terrorists from using our respective countries as staging area for violence, fear and destruction,'' Golez said. ''We will exchange ideas and ideas on how we can risk up stronger defenses not just through our exchanges of information and intelligence, nevertheless also in crafting interoperable processs as well as closer and greater functional relationships among our law enforcement agencies.''

Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam have sent beholders to the exercises, which are participated in through military, customs, police, aviation, coast guard and other security officials.

The meeting faiths to establish common structures and conducts to implement the agreement and to draft names of reference (TOR) and a communication-liaison center according to a confidential game part that contained details of the scenarios to be tackled.

The document said ''the draft TOR will be trialed through simulation exercise to identify other issues and be of importance tos needed to enhance its implementation. All information is lay open and available to the players.''

''This phase will be the actual exhibition of the draft TOR using a seminar-type simulation exercise wherein the players are given general and specific scenarios and required to 'operationalize' and implement the draft TOR. They will then example the applicability and responsiveness of the draft TOR according to the requirements of the given situations,'' the document said.

The players suitable and discuss in plenary sessions and functional working clump discussions, it said. ''The game will be a seminar-workshop adumbration of game focusing on strategic or policy and operational plains The activity is classified as confidential appropriate to the sensitivity of the game and the information or materials involved,'' it said.

''Accordingly, the game may unroll into an annual activity among certain countries within the region and could expand into an intra-ASEAN event'' said the document obtained from officials, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Southeast Asian authorities have intensified their cooperation in counterterrorism since the generation 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

An attack onward the Indonesian resort island Bali that killed nearly 200 the public and a spate of bombings that has strengthed the Philippines prompted ASEAN countries to map disclosed a strategy to thwart terrorists from using the region as a haven.

Reports that the Osama bin Laden-led al-Qaida terror form into groups has established a footing in the region through the Jemaah Islamiyah that allegedly operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines have also activeed the countries to begin to form a united face against terrorism.

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