U.S., Asian Nations Sign Terror Deal

Secretary of State Colin Powell signed a sweeping treaty Thursday with Southeast Asian nations aimed at making the region that has become a second front in the war against terrorism more responsive to future threats.

The signing capped a week of diplomacy that overcame fears of some nations that the accord could lead to U.S. troops being based in Southeast Asia, where American forces have already helped the Philippines battle the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas.

"This is not a case of Big Brother United States imposing on ASEAN," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said. "This is something that both ASEAN and the United States want."

Under the agreement, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Washington will share information, boost police cooperation and plug holes that extremists can exploit. It would raise U.S. technical and logistical aid to "prevent, disrupt and combat" international terrorism.

Powell told a news conference that the accord would build a "more intimate relationship" with the Southeast Asian countries but will not be used as a thin wedge to deploy U.S. troops, which would depend on country-to-country arrangements.

"We are not looking for bases or places to send U.S. troops," Powell said.

Powell said that he brings the message to each country he visits that the campaign against terrorism should not be a cover to repress legitimate dissent, a charge leveled by critics in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"If we're going to defeat the terrorists, then we have to attack them from the highest moral plane," Powell said. "Human rights have to be protected."

In Southeast Asia, al Qaeda operatives have established links with local extremists that were exploited in the logistics of the Sept. 11 attacks and plots to bomb the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Singapore.

"This (agreement) truly puts the fight against terrorism in a global perspective," said Philippine envoy Domingo Siazon. "It has training and capacity-building concepts which would be operative if asked for."

During his Asia tour, Powell will be visiting Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Powell will bring a plan to increase anti-terror training for Indonesia's police, keeping within U.S. laws that sharply limited military aid after Indonesian troops rampaged through East Timor in 1999.

"I expect to discuss military-to-military cooperation with them" as well as human rights, Powell said.

On Wednesday, ASEAN joined the United States, China and 11 other countries, meeting under the ASEAN Regional Forum security grouping, in a separate attempt to block extremists from accessing the money they need to carry out terror attacks.

The forum comprises the ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam --ong with other nations that have security interests in the region.

Both accords dovetail with what ASEAN has made into a theme in its first meeting since the Sept. 11 attacks: fighting terrorism before it happens.

For Southeast Asia, it's not only a security issue but an economic one: leaders say that fear caused by attacks against civilians jeopardizes investment and economic growth.

The annual ASEAN security meeting, derided in the past as an ineffective, bureaucratic talk shop, has been the scene this year of intense diplomatic contacts dealing with issues ranging from tensions on the Korean peninsula to the conflict between India and Pakistan.

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said that Southeast Asian had "absolutely nothing to fear" that India might go to war with Pakistan, but insisted that talks between the nuclear rivals would not occur until cross-border terrorism halts.

In another regional alliance against terrorism, Malaysia and Australia plan to sign a pact promoting intelligence-sharing and cooperation between their immigration, legal, defense and customs officials.