Canberra, Manila sign terror pact
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Downer has been pushing for more co-operation against terrorism.
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CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- Australia and the Philippines have signed an agreement to work more closely to fight international terrorism.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer sealed the pact in Canberra Tuesday.
The agreement provides a framework for greater co-operation between security, intelligence, law enforcement and defense officials of both countries.
Cooperation also will intensify between officials from other relevant agencies such as customs, immigration and transport, the Australian government said in a statement released Tuesday.
"As a result, intelligence exchanges on terrorism matters will increase and our efforts on law enforcement, combating terrorist financing and controlling our borders will be enhanced," the statement said.
The agreement also provides for counter-terrorism training and education and technical assistance programs.
Australia signed a similar agreement with near neighbor Indonesia in April last year.
That agreement formed the basis for the joint Indonesian-Australian police investigation into the October 12 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people, including 89 Australians.
Both the Philippines and Indonesia have significant Muslim extremist terror groups operating there with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Australia's close military ties with the United States and strong support for its stance against Iraq are considered to make it a higher profile target for future terrorist acts.
