Sri Lanka’s military fought a fierce artillery duel with Tamil Tigers in the island’s restive east early on Tuesday, just hours after the rebels said they were resuming their two-decade independence struggle.
Driven by common fear of terrorism, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to raise the ramparts against security threats when they hold the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu City on Dec. 11-13.
http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&sec=reader&rp=2&fi=p061124.htm&no=11&date=
By Anthony Vargas
The Armed Forces’ Public Information chief, Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, said on Friday that one of the “worst-case scenarios†the military is preparing for is underwater bombing attacks. “There have been reports that threat groups will conduct underwater bombings . . . [but] we have the means to counter that,†Bacarro said at a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.Â
Although he declined to elaborate on the measures against such an attack, he said the military would deploy specialized troops in Cebu. “SWAG [Special Warfare Group] will play an important role here because it has the riverine capability. Other than that, we are not at liberty to disclose our preparations,†BaÂcarro said.SWAG, a unit under the Philippine Navy, is one of the elite units trained to fight on land, air and water, and its skills and capability are comparable with those of the US Navy SEALS.Bacarro said men of the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiah might carry out the underwater attacks, and so could the communist New People’s Army.Â
A military official confirmed that the concept of underwater bombing is not new to the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiah since in the past they had trained some of their men for such an attack. “The concept is not new to them . . . although they have yet to carry out such an activity. They have already trained some of their people,†said the Manila-based military official who asked not to be named.Â
The official said that in October 2000 the al-Qaeda bombed the US Navy destroyer Cole, which was docked in the port in Aden, Yemen, killing 13 sailors. He added that the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiah had conducted scuba and underwater training from 1995 to 2005 somewhere in Mindoro, and recently in Basilan. Bacarro said the military has deployed around 3,000 troops, including one Marine battalion to reinforce the 8,000 policemen assigned to guard the summit and its participants.Â
He added that the Air Force has deployed attack helicopters, light bombers and transport aircraft to Cebu, while the Army has fielded several armored units. To ensure that no power outages will occur during the summit, the Department of Energy and the National Power Corp. have dispatched a power barge to Cebu that will connect a dedicated line to the Shangri-La Mactan Hotel, one of the summit’s main venues.
Local power facilities have been prepped up in anticipation of the event. “All hotels have been tested for emergency power situations as well as all the necessary technical adjustments,†Art Aguilar, president of the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo), told reporters Friday
Islamic militants from Indonesia are trying to mount suicide attacks in the Philippines using recruits from Sulawesi and Java, a police intelligence officer said on Tuesday.
A  senior US official on Friday raised the prospect of increasing US military deployments in Mindanao to confront Moro extremists who Washington says threaten regional stability. US Special Forces troops are known to deployed on a rotational basis in the Muslim southwestern portion of the former US colony.
In a press conference held in south Mogadishu by Islamic Courts judiciary council leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys and national security secretary Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siad Indho-adde have described the pirate hunting operation in Somalia’s Indian Ocean coasts as a successful salvage operation.
http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne1678.htm
The head of the U-S Navy praised three nations bordering the once pirate-infested Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia for progress they’ve made ousting the sea robbers.
Somali pirates have hijacked a commercial vessel off the coast of the lawless nation, raising fears of resurgence of piracy after several months of lull activity.
Reports from Mogadishu said Saturday the United Arab Emirates- flagged MV Veesham carrying charcoal with 12-member crew on board was seized near Adale, 95 km northeast of Mogadishu on Thursday night.
http://english.people.com.cn/200611/05/eng20061105_318455.html
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Bangladesh’s Chittagong port is the world’s most dangerous with more than 30 pirate attacks reported in the first nine months of this year, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/01/asia/AS_GEN_Asia_Piracy.phpÂ
As of September 30, the International Chamber of Commerce reported 168 attacks against shipping worldwide, the majority as usual along the coasts of India, Malaaca Strait and Indonesia.
There have been 40 reported attacks in Indonesia and 20 in the Malacca Strait. The west coast of Africa has had 26Â attacks and there were 17 attacks around South America, with nine off the southern coast of Brazil.Â