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| Southeast Asia |
| Singapore & Australia to co-operate in fighting terrorism |
| 2005-08-23 |
| AUSTRALIA must co-operate more closely with countries such as Singapore to defeat the long-term security challenges posed by terrorism, ministers from each country said today. Two days of discussions between Australian ministers and their Singaporean counterparts were today described as "a meeting of the minds". Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who chaired the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC) meeting in Perth today with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, praised the bilateral relations. "(It was) quite remarkable how on the most important issues we share almost identical views, I think because of the history of the relationship, I think because of the geographical position, I think because of the values we hold," Mr Yeo said. Mr Downer said the talks touched on trade, disaster relief and the possibility of pandemics such as avian flu, but much of the discussion was about efforts both countries were making to address terrorism in east Asia. "There's no doubting the amount of energy and determination that both our countries are putting into that effort," he said. All countries in the region were making a real, co-operative effort in the fight against terrorism, Mr Downer said. "There's very good co-operation but this is no easy task. Obviously, it is going to involve a number of different approaches – military, police, intelligence – ... but also there's got to be a lot of focus on the hearts and minds campaign," he said. Moderate Muslim leaders – both political and religious – would play a significant part in winning the battle of ideas with extremists, Mr Downer said. "We can only encourage and support them, we can't necessarily engage so successfully in that debate." The SAJMC concluded with the signing of an extension to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area Agreement, allowing Singapore defence personnel the continued opportunity to train at a number of Australian facilities. During the meeting, Singapore also agreed to host the Regional Special Forces Conference in 2006. |
| Posted by:Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World |