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It has been repeated so often that it is becoming a cliche. But there is a greater impetus for countries to work hand-in-hand in the drawn-out struggle against extremism, more so than their effort to prevent terrorist attacks.

And South-east Asia provides the perfect case study to underline this, said terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna yesterday.

"The biggest threat today in South-east Asia is not terrorism. It is extremism. The terrorists know that sooner or later, they will be hunted down because governments have come together in the past five years to fight terrorism," said Dr Gunaratna, who was addressing thousands of government delegates and trade visitors to the second Global Security Asia conference in Singapore.

But it is a different story on the ideological front. While the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network has been dismantled in Singapore and Malaysia, Dr Gunaratna said that the group is still "the most capable and credible" terrorist organisation in the region.

Not mincing words, he pointed the finger at Indonesia, which came under severe international criticism last year when Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir — who had instigated the Bali bombing in 2002 — walked free after 25 months in jail.

Dr Gunaratna added: "All of us can be JI members in Indonesia and we cannot be prosecuted unless we conduct a terrorist attack. The first step needed to fight a terrorist organisation is to decimate and criminalise the group. Not only to go after the operational cells, but to dismantle the propaganda, the fundraising, the recruitment and procurement."

But while the "epicentre of terrorism" is shifting from Afghanistan to Iraq, South-east Asia could become home to "a group of highly radicalised Muslims", he added.

And it is in the battle of the hearts and minds that Singapore — with its success in the Community Engagement Programme and rehabilitation of former JI members — must share its expertise with its neighbours, said Dr Gunaratna, adding that he had recently visited Guantanamo Bay and recounted how most of the detainees ended up being radicalised while they were in the American detention facility.

He said: "The security of Singapore can no longer be protected simply by raising its walls. We have to reduce the regional temperature."

In terms of hardware, Singapore was also showing the way in being one of the first countries to introduce biometric passports and meet international requirements for ships to be tracked, said Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar in his opening address.

Pointing out that international inter-operability of biometric passports is still lacking, Prof Jayakumar added that, to date, some 2,800 craft in Singapore have already been fitted with the Harbour Craft Transponder System, which monitors their movement.

Said Prof Jayakumar: "Governments must harness the advantage we have of greater access to resources and control over territory. Working together, like-minded governments can cooperate to implement worldwide systems to enhance global security."

Yet on the ground, practical issues stand in the way of cross-border cooperation. Said Colonel Tay Kian Seng, the Republic of Singapore Navy's head of naval operations: "If you see a crime, you play the role of a citizen if the policeman is not there yet. You can try to relieve the situation but there's a limit. You can't be stepping over your authority — same as in the sea."

He added: "Sometimes when boundaries just get in the way, we really need to work together. We need to find agreements, common principles and get down to working out the standard operating procedures."

In the meantime, Singapore is ramping up its training of counter-terrorism personnel, said Prof Jayakumar, who added that the Home Team Academy was developing a "suite of counter-terrorism training facilities" including a "smell laboratory to help sensitise front-line officers to recognise tell-tale chemicals used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices". - TODAY/fa

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