PHNOM PENH Southeast Asian leaders have vowed united and tougher action to combat terrorist groups in the region following the Bali bomb attack, according to a statement released at summit talks here.

"We resolve to intensify our efforts, collectively and individually, to prevent, counter and suppress the activities of terrorist groups in the region," the leaders said in a joint declaration.

The declaration was agreed during a working dinner of the 10 leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping late Sunday ahead of Monday's official start of the two-day summit.

The Asean leaders called on their law enforcement agencies to work more closely together and assured other global leaders that they would work with them to fight terrorism.

Travel warnings criticised

"(We will take) practical co-operative measures among ourselves and with the international community," the document said.

However the leaders also criticised Western governments for their recent spate of travel warnings against travelling in many parts of Southeast Asia because of other potential terrorist attacks.

"We call on the international community to avoid indiscriminately advising their citizens to refrain from visiting or otherwise dealing with our countries, in the absence of established evidence to substantiate rumours of possible terrorist attacks, as such measures could only help achieve the objectives of the terrorists," the declaration said.

The leaders also urged the international community "to support Asean's efforts to combat terrorism and restore business confidence in the region".

Asean leaders are meeting in the Cambodian capital just three weeks after a huge car bomb attack on the Indonesian island of Bali killed nearly 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

More than 20 other people were killed last month in a series of bomb attacks in the Philippines.

The leaders described the Indonesian and Philippines killings as "heinous terrorist attacks". AFP