Philippine leader, Obama to meet on security

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Philippine President Gloria Arroyo was set Thursday to be the first Southeast Asian leader to visit Barack Obama's White House, with cooperation on fighting Islamic extremists on the agenda.

Arroyo was due to hold talks in the afternoon with Obama. She will also meet with members of the US Congress and business groups.

The White House, in announcing the visit, said that Arroyo and Obama would "further the traditionally strong alliance and bond between our nations."

It said the two countries would discuss cooperation on fighting extremists as well as climate change, a key priority for the Obama administration as the deadline approaches for a new global treaty.

Before her departure, Arroyo told the Philippine Congress that security issues would be high on her agenda.

She said her talks with Obama would discuss "terrorism -- how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in historical injustice or religious prejudice."

Washington has been providing assistance and training to help the Philippine military crush Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks.

Since 2003, small numbers of US forces have been rotating in the southern Philippines, providing intelligence that has led to the capture or killing of top militants.

Arroyo's visit comes at a time when Southeast Asian neighbors -- particularly the Philippines and Indonesia -- are increasing their intelligence cooperation after a spate of deadly bombing.

A July 17 bombing of two luxury hotels in Jakarta, killing seven, has been blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah, an Islamist group believed by intelligence agencies to be Al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm.

The Philippines is a former US colony and along with Thailand is the most long-standing US partner in Southeast Asia.

The Obama administration has also been stepping up relations with Indonesia, where the president lived as a childhood and which is often hailed in Washington as a model for a moderate Muslim-majority democracy.