Posted on 02/04/2004 4:40:12 PM PST by gdyniawitawa
A terrorist attack in Asia is "inevitable", politicians at an anti-terror conference have been told.
Al Qaeda members are operational in the Asia-Pacific area and using "legitimate fronts to pursue barbaric ends", Australia's foreign minister said.
The anti-terrorism conference is being held on the Indonesian island of Bali, where more than 200 people died in a bomb attack in October 2002.
"Terrorist groups are co-operating across the region, transiting borders using one country to train in, another to raise funds in and another for safe haven," Alexander Downer said.
"They are working together to maximise the impact of their activities."
Officials from 33 countries, including US Attorney General John Ashcroft, are attending the conference.
Stopping the operations of the al Qaeda-linked southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah tops the agenda at the two-day regional conference.
The countries are expected to bolster co-operation in intelligence gathering and offer new anti-terror help for developing countries.
But a comprehensive agreement is unlikely because of mutual suspicions.
The actions have so far damaged Jemaah Islamiyah but failed to defeat it.
More than 200 of its members have been arrested since the Bali bombing.
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