Asia's largest security group mulls counterterrorism measures

By Sean Yoong ~ The Associated Press

KARAMBUNAI, Malaysia -- Counterterrorism officials from 19 nations on Saturday debated how to prevent terrorists from slipping across borders with forged travel documents.

The nations, from Asia and beyond, are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, the area's largest security group.

"We tried to learn from each other how to fight terrorism by regulating the movement of people and goods and preventing others from acquiring forged passports," Malaysian foreign affairs Deputy Secretary General N. Parameswaran said.

Parameswaran spoke to reporters at the end of the two-day meeting in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island.

U.S. diplomat Robert Pollard, who chaired the meeting with Parameswaran, said he was impressed by the countries' "cooperative spirit."

"Now the idea is to consolidate our progress and start working together," said Pollard, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia.

The security group wants to set up a regional anti-terrorism center within six months in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city.

The center will organize training programs, workshops and seminars to help the region implement counterterrorism efforts.

The meeting brought together counterterrorism experts, diplomats and defense officials from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Four members -- Myanmar, Mongolia, North Korea and Papua New Guinea -- did not send representatives to the meeting.