US to Open Second Front

With militant Islamic movements in action from the Philippines to Malaysia, South-East Asia is to become the ìsecond frontî in Americaís War on Terror.

Regional officials have agreed a landmark declaration of co-operation with the US that will give the Americans, which has 100,000 troops in the region, far greater latitude to operate against terrorists in their countries. It will be signed by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, who meets Foreign Ministers from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) in Brunei tomorrow.

Washington has become increasingly concerned about the terrorist agenda of groups based in South-East Asia and radical Islamists operating in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have been identified as al-Qaeda allies.

The drafting of the joint declaration has been controversial, with many Asean ministers concerned that it gives America too much leeway. The original wording said that America would act in accordance with ìthe principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and . . . non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other statesî. The new wording, changed at Washingtonís request, says only that it ìrecognisesî such principles.

The agreement will also increase American financial and technical assistance for nations to fight terrorism and improve the flow of information between Pacific Rim countries. About 1,000 US troops are deployed in the Philippines, where they provide training and logistical support for the army in its fight against Islamic militants of the Abu Sayyaf group, which has been connected with al-Qaeda through the training of some of its senior men in Afghanistan.

Other countries have taken their own initiative. Singapore has arrested a group of men it suspected of planning to bomb American targets, including the US Embassy and warships, and Malaysian authorities have arrested dozens of people suspected of links with terrorist groups. Several Indonesian militants have also been identified as having ties with international terrorists and al-Qaeda.

Asean ministers have declared that terrorism is the greatest threat facing both the region and the world at large and have pledged to work together for its defeat. The Asean meeting which ends today will be followed by a two-day conference of the Asean Regional Forum, a security group that brings together the ten Asean nations with the US, China, Japan, Russia, India and the EU.

Western diplomats in Jakarta say that the US is keen to keep up the momentum of the war on terrorism, but with the fight in Afghanistan stagnating and no sign of a slackening in international resistance to an invasion of Iraq, expanding the war into South-East Asia is a natural progression.

They give warning that domestic politics in some Asean nations are riven by tensions between Muslim radicals and moderates and that the US risks sparking a nationalistic backlash if it is seen to intervene too openly.

Left-wing groups opposed to the presence of US troops on Philippines soil say that they will demonstrate on the streets when General Powell visits Manila this week. Under Philippines law, the US troops cannot undertake a combat role, but they have taken part in a number of joint training exercises in areas where Abu Sayyaf are alleged to have killed an Abu Sayyaf member during a recent operation.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore have moved fast to arrest terror suspects, but they have expressed anger that Indonesia has shown little inclination to act on information they have provided about radicals with terrorist connections. Indonesian politics have become fractured since the collapse of President Suhartoís dictatorship, and politicians with debts to Islamic militant groups form a significant constituency in the parliament.

Hamzah Haz, the Vice-President, who heads an Islamic party, recently visited Jafar Umar Thalib, the leader of a militant group accused of killing Christians in the Moluccas islands.Mr Thalib, who has admitted meeting bin Laden, denies having any connections with international terrorists, but his recent detention by the Jakarta authorities won praise from the US.