Thailand has called for better intelligence cooperation - and an agreement on early warnings - to try to avert terrorist attacks.

In a speech in Jakarta, Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said Thailand wanted comprehensive sub-regional and bilateral intelligence networks to curb terrorist activities and enable authorities to promptly exchange information related to terrorism.

Nitya also called for a protocol to be set up for early warnings to counter terrorist activities and movements.

In a speech to foreign ministers from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia at the two-day Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter Terrorism, Nitya said one of the most disturbing trends was terrorists' use of religion as a way to promote their agenda.

More had to be done to forge understanding and cooperation with religious and community leaders, he said, to promote voices of moderation and a culture of tolerance.

Fighting terrorism was no longer just a law enforcement issue.

"It is one where we have to fight the ideas propagated by terrorists with our own ideas based on our values and beliefs," Nitya said.

Terrorist propaganda via the Internet was also high on the agenda at the ministerial meeting, which ends today. Participants agreed on the need to counter terrorists' claims as respective states try to win people's "hearts and minds".

Besides a more integrated approach from governments, Nitya called for stronger border cooperation to prevent the smuggling of small arms, light weapons and materials that could be converted into explosives.

A global framework under the UN was in place to curb the flow of these "dual-used materials" but it was up to governments in the region to apply them in an appropriate manner, Nitya said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, in his prepared remarks, called for a more effective way of denying terrorists access to deadly weapons.

The meeting was the brainchild of Indonesia and Australia following the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed more than 200 - mostly Australian tourists.

Known as the "Bali Process", the forum included a law enforcement component that brings police chiefs and top counter terrorism officials from each country together.

Nitya said participants were also concerned about the ongoing strife in the deep South, but he said there was a general understanding that the crisis was Thailand's "internal problem" and the militants' ability to undertake coordinated attacks did not mean the insurgency had expanded in any significant way.

It was understood that many of the insurgencies in Southeast Asia were based on local and historical grievances and did not necessarily fit the definition of "international terrorism".

Nevertheless, Nitya said, insurgent activities were disruptive to the state and society as a whole.

Don Pathan

The Nation

Jakarta