Share With Us Info On Southern Terrorists, Indonesia Tells Thais

"Even though I do not know where they are, I can say Cambodians with alleged JI (Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group) links are now in the southern part of Thailand" - Watanachai Chaimuanwong, advisor to Thailand's Prime Minister

BANGKOK, June 11 (Bernama) -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Hassan Wirajuda said his country is looking forward to share information and intelligence with Thailand on the alleged involvement of its citizen in the Southern Thai insurgency.

He said both countries were working closely on counter-terrorism and law enforcement aspects, adding that a high level committee met in Chiang Mai recently to increase cooperation in defence and security.

"This is part of the ongoing cooperation...exchanging of information and intelligence is among the important elements. We welcome information that Thailand want to share with us," he said after the Sixth Joint Commission meeting between Thailand and Indonesia, here Monday.

Thailand was represented by its Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram.

Dr Hassan said this when asked to comment on a statement made by an advisor to the Thai Prime Minister, Watanachai Chaimuanwong that extremists from Indonesia and Cambodia were training insurgents in the Muslim-majority southern provinces where more than 2,300 people have died in the unrest since January 2004.

Citing intelligence reports, Wattanachai had also claimed that Cambodian Muslims entered the country legally enroute to finding work in Malaysia but there was no record of them leaving the Kingdom.

"Even though I do not know where they are, I can say Cambodians with alleged JI (Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group) links are now in the southern part of Thailand," Bangkok Post had quoted Watanachai as saying.

Dr Hassan said Indonesia, with the region's biggest Muslim population, would continue to work with Thai authorities in finding peaceful solution to the southern conflict.

The Thai Army had also said recently that they suspected Indonesian terrrorists of training southern militants in view of the increase in the number of beheadings of Buddhists.

On bilaterial ties between the two countries, he said trade between them had risen from US$5.6 billion in 2005 to US$6.7 billion last year, which exceeded the level of intra-Asean trade by about 14 percent.

He said both countries also agreed to carry out joint initiatives to promote cooperation in the fields of agriculture, science and technology, environment, education, transportation, energy and mining.