Asian governments will meet this week on bomb-scarred Bali to look at expanding their anti-terror fight beyond their often-sporadic, two-way agreements that have damaged -- but failed to defeat -- the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah militant group.
But critics say they doubt the Cabinet ministers and other senior officials from 33 countries will be able to sign anything beyond a vague declaration when they meet today and tomorrow because of the region's history of mutual suspicions, national self-interest and varying assessments of the terror threat.
"We've seen many declarations of intent in the past. But we haven't seen regional mechanisms to put these declarations in place," said Andrew Tan, a security analyst at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies.
Tan said the region needs something like the EU police organization Europol to handle transnational crimes, or an agency to craft Asia-wide anti-terror policy and coordinate legislation.
Transnational cooperation has forced Jemaah Islamiyah further underground and helped jail many of its leaders. But the terrorists are regrouping, helped by porous borders, lax maritime security and rising fanaticism, officials say.
"When we look at Southeast Asia, we see the mutual suspicions and diversity of interests," Tan added. "We lose in terms of coordination and closer permanent institutional exchange of information that would help us fight terrorism."
Officials admit there's no comprehensive proposal on the table in Bali. They say they'll aim to bolster information exchanges and intelligence gathering, and announce new anti-terror aid for developing countries like Indonesia.
They're also expected to announce the opening of a transnational crime center in Indonesia, run jointly by this country and Australia, to offer anti-terror training and serve as an information clearinghouse.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS