<

ASEAN Presents United Front on Terror, Spratlys at Security Forum
Saturday, July 27, 2002
(11:44 PM ET)
By Patrick McDowell
Associated Press Writer

(Thu Aug 1, 7:34 AM ET)
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell(R) exchanges an anti-terror pact with Brunei's Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah in Bandar Seri Begawan, August 1, 2002. The agreement commits Southeast Asian nations to work with Washington to fight terrorism. Asian foreign ministers vowed to cooperate with the U.S. on counter terrorism operations, sharing information, blocking terrorist funds and clamping down on forged travel documents.
Image Credit: Jonathan Drake -- Reuters.
The agreement would increase U.S. technical and financial aid to the region to fight terrorism. A separate statement will urge nations to work to stop the flow of funds to terrorist organizations. "I think that everybody is on board," Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry official, said Saturday. "There is a consensus. There is some adjustment of the wording. That is very normal."

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei -- AP
Southeast Asian nations overcame differences on a terror pact with the United States and territorial disputes with China to present a united front Sunday ahead of the Asia-Pacific's biggest security forum.

Senior diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concluded meetings Saturday to iron out a common position on the issues.

With U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news - web sites) due at this week's meeting between ASEAN nations and countries with strategic interests in the area, the ASEAN Regional Forum is dealing with its most crowded agenda in years.

The war against terrorism, long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, lingering tensions between North and South Korea ( news - web sites) following a recent naval clash, and infiltrations in Kashmir ( news - web sites) keeping India and Pakistan on a war footing all loom large.
(More: Yahoo! News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan