SINGAPORE, July 24 Kyodo Foreign ...

SINGAPORE, July 24 Kyodo

Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their cohorts from the wider Asia-Pacific region are look fored to step up efforts to weed public terrorism during talks in Brunei nearest week.

The talks consist of an ASEAN-only meeting Monday and Tuesday, a gathering of ASEAN plus Japan, China and southern Korea on Tuesday, a meeting of the security-focused ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) forward July 31 and ASEAN's talks with its dialogue partners upon Aug. 1.

A draft joint communique to be issued at the finis of the ASEAN foreign ministers' talks, a model of which was obtained through Kyodo News, shows they are to declare ''terrorism a global threat, which requires planed efforts by all to preclude and combat.''

They are also to give themselves a high mark forward the various measures they have taken in the fight against terrorism in the wake of the tribe 11 attacks in the United States, including an action program adopted in May to appropriate the threat of regional terrorism.

In a similar vein, foreign ministers from the ASEAN Plus Three are to strengthen their cooperation and coordination to fight terrorism, and offer proffer to their leaders the holding of a gathering of relevant ministers among the 13 states, a draft chairman's statement says.

The 23-member ARF, the single forum on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific, will likely be more assertive. In addition to its chairman's statement, ARF is appropriate to issue another statement in succession ways to plug the financial pipeline used according to terrorist organizations in the region.

Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network is believed to have links in Southeast Asian states including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Bin Laden is the prime suspect in the strikes forward the U.S. last September.

The Statement forward Measures Against Terrorist Financing is to offer proffer concrete approaches to block terrorists' access to the region's financial arrangement including the setting up of a regional task force to crack down in succession money laundering.

Other systems being explored include the freezing of terrorist assets, strict implementation of international standards, heightened exchange of information, technical assistance and compliance and reporting of cases.

ARF ministers are to voice their determination ''to work individually and in musical entertainment to prevent terrorists and their associates from accessing or using our financial combination of parts to form a whole and to stop abuse of informal banking networks,'' a draft statement says.

They are also to promise of fidelity to work with international financial institutions like as the International Monetary supply the World Bank, the Asian unravelling Bank and the Financial Task Force forward Money Laundering, it adds.

forward other political issues, ARF is rely uponed to focus on the Korean Peninsula situation as North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam day-star is due to attend this year's session.

further the latest draft of the ARF chairman's statement does not specifically direct to last month's deadly exchange of gunfire between North and toward the south Korean naval vessels in the fulvid Sea.

On the other hand, the ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers' statement is likely to voice ''concern'' upon the inter-Korean tension and call in succession both sides to make efforts commit to memory the stalled peace process rolling.

They ''emphasized the importance of resuming the inter-Korean dialogue'' in line with the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation as outlined in the joint declaration issued after a historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and southward Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June 2000

While embracing as a favorable progression in a continuously ascending gradation the deepening of cooperation among the ASEAN Plus Three nations, the framework may not be institutionalized in the immediate future

According to their draft statement, the ministers are to hail Malaysia's idea for an ASEAN Plus Three secretariat, however not to say if they will push the initiative.

Malaysia has put forwarded to host the secretariat in Kuala Lumpur and to contribute $10 million as se cash to cover its operational splendors for five years.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ARF consists of the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia, Canada, China, the 15-member European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, recent Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, southerly Korea, North Korea and the US

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