How has the war against terrorism in Southeast Asia fared in the two years since 9/11 and how well have states in the region responded to the challenge?

There have been some significant gains. The toppling of the Taleban regime in Afghanistan in the American-led military campaign was a clear plus. It meant radical groups could no longer send recruits for training in Afghanistan or use it as a sanctuary.

The arrests in Singapore and Malaysia since 2001 have crippled the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) networks in the two countries. The remaining members are on the run, most having fled to other countries. Terrorist attacks in these two countries, especially on soft targets, can still happen, but it has become more difficult for JI to mount them or use these countries for transit or as bases.

There has been a significant change in Indonesia's attitude. Before the Bali bombing on 12 October last year, Indonesia was in a state of denial. Many Indonesians then saw the September 11 catastrophe as largely an American problem. Even after Bali attack, the feeling persisted for a few weeks among the public that elements of the Indonesian military or the American Central Intelligence Agency could have been behind the attack.

Over time, however, well-publicized investigations into the bombing and confessions of JI perpetrators convinced Indonesians that they had a genuine terrorist problem on their hands. There have been dozens terrorists arrested since then, including some connected with the JW Marriott Hotel bombing last month.

Thailand, on its part, has taken a more proactive stance since May this year to deal with terrorists on its soil. It has made a number of arrests, including that of JI operational leader Hambali.

Another legacy of September 11 is that there has been intensified cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels to fight terrorism, including stepped up bilateral intelligence exchanges. The ASEAN Ministerial Committee on Transnational Crime has been a useful platform to share best practices in the fight against terrorism. International bodies like the United Nations Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Financial Action Task Force now require countries to report regularly their progress in specific areas of the global anti-terror war.