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Bangkok goes on high alert
Mark Hollands for CNN
(CNN) -- A ring of cutting-edge, high-security technology will be thrown around the 21 world leaders for the duration of the three-day Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation forum to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 2,000 United States security agents have been assigned to assure President George W. Bush's safety during the trip. Smaller-scale teams are expected for the new Chinese President, Hu Jintao, who begins an official state visit to Thailand on October 17, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose own state visit begins immediately after APEC wraps up October 21. Security fears are at an all-time high after the recent arrest in central Thailand of the alleged mastermind of the Bali bombing, Hambali, operations chief of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network and a suspected ally of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Hambali has reportedly told US interrogators that JI planned to target two commercial airliners and two Bangkok hotels, The Conrad and the Bangkok Marriott, during the summit. He also is thought to have been the mastermind behind the bombing of Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel in Indonesia in early August. Despite its denials, Thailand has been a safe harbor for terrorist elements for four decades. It was not until June 10 that the nation's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, admitted the country faced a terror problem. Thaksin, a former policeman, has now taken the unprecedented step of trying to calm the fears of his own people, saying authorities are putting increasing effort into intelligence gathering to prevent any attack. Australian Prime Minister John Howard recently summed up the view of APEC leaders, saying he was not concerned about his safety and would attend unless there was "powerful advice to the contrary". Thai authorities have assigned more than 10,000 police and security personnel to the APEC summit. One of the most challenging events for security personnel will the night-time procession of 50 royal barges when the leaders, their ministers, officials and more than 600 guests will line the Chao Phraya River in the heart of Bangkok. Thai and US agents will be on the riverbanks and boats will patrol the waterways. Maps of linking canals and drains were provided to US agents in August in preparation for security measures. The head of APEC security, Lieutenant-General Krisna Polananta, said his men had identified 23 "soft targets" along the river and another 180 in other parts of Bangkok. His men have been ordered to increase security at the 16 five-star hotels around Bangkok that will accommodate the leaders and their entourages. They will erect laser fencing around each of the official aircraft used by the APEC leaders to fly to Thailand to ensure none are tampered with during the forum. Local authorities have also unveiled a tire-puncturing chain designed by the nation's Defense Research and Development Office to stop cars and trucks that could be used to crash through security checkpoints. Terrorism expert Clive Williams, director of terrorism studies at the Australian National University, said he doubted either al Qaeda or JI would try an audacious attack now. "Authorities will realise that bombing is the most likely form of terrorism, and they will have learned a lot of lessons from the Marriott Hotel bomb in Jakarta." "Why attack a hard target?" he said. "There will be a substantial perimeter of at least 200m that security forces will place around the talks. No vehicles, unless thoroughly searched, will get close to the leaders."
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