Philippine president Gloria Arroyo has proposed expanding a Southeast Asian anti-terrorism coalition to include China, Russia and four Central Asian nations.
Ms. Arroyo spoke in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday after the first meeting between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Russia.
Ms. Arroyo said five ASEAN member nations that already have an information sharing security pact could expand the agreement to include nations belonging to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Shanghai group includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Philippine president said terrorists, in her words, "roam their common seas."
Ms. Arroyo said Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted positively to the proposal during their meeting.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
