Southeast Asia must prepare for more terrorism: Philippine leader

MANILA, Aug 6 (AFP) - Southeast Asia must steel itself for the likelihood of more terrorist attacks following the deadly hotel bombing in the Indonesian capital, Philippines President Gloria Arroyo said Wednesday.

The Jakarta blast "is a clear message that the war against terrorism in the region must be pursued without let-up through more intensive multilateral cooperation," she told finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting here.

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"The region must now learn to live with these threats from day to day. Vigilance must become a way of life for the region even as we maintain normalcy in the course of work and business," Arroyo added.

She said Filipino security forces have "standing alert orders aimed at thwarting any similar attacks in our country."

The blast at the JW Marriott Hotel on Tuesday claimed 14 lives and left 152 others injured, the Red Cross said.

It came just two days before a court was due to hand down the first verdict in the trials of alleged Jemaah Islamiyah militants accused of last year's Bali attack that left 202 people dead, mostly foreign tourists.

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