December 7, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 21, 1422

MANILA, Dec 6: There was a chilly response from three governments in southeast Asia on Wednesday to comments by President George W. Bush that US troops could strike outside Afghanistan.

Officials in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia ruled out any move by the United States to send troops to their countries and Manila, Washington’s closest ally in the region, has already said it can look after itself.

“There may be a need to use military troops elsewhere,” Bush said in an interview with ABC News, to be aired on Wednesday. “And I just want the American people to know that we’re keeping all options on the table.”

The idea was greeted with dismay in Asian capitals.

“We do not agree that any foreign troops should join the fight against the Abu Sayyaf,” Philippine presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said, referring to a Muslim radical group which the United States has said is linked to Al Qaeda.

The Philippines, a former US colony, has very close ties with the United States and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met Bush during an official visit to Washington last month.

Tiglao said Bush, in his talks with Arroyo, had offered to send armed advisers to help the Philippines’ operations against the guerrillas but Arroyo had said her military “is well capable of handling the Abu Sayyaf.”

The Philippine constitution also prohibits foreign troops in the country, Arroyo told Bush, he added.

The mainly Roman Catholic Philippines has been beset for decades by insurrection in the south of the country, where most of the country’s Muslim minority lives.

Tiglao said, however, that the ill-equipped Philippine armed forces would welcome technical and material support.

Washington has pledged almost 100 million dollars in security assistance to help Manila fight extremist groups.

In Jakarta, foreign affairs ministry spokesman Wahid Supriyadi made it clear that sending US troops to Indonesia would not be welcome.

“That’s quite impossible,” he said. “That action will face sovereignty problems. It seems improbable the United States will do that to Indonesia.

“Our position is clear, we are fighting against terrorism but we will use our own legal framework in doing that,” he said.—Reuters