Naval forces from the Philippines and Malaysia began joint exercises today aimed at combatting cross-border movements of terrorist groups, officials said.

Three Filipino navy ships and two from Malaysia were participating in the five-day maneuvers, which also involve about 80 pesonnel from both sides, said Commodore George Uy, commander of the naval forces in the southern Philippines.

The Malaysian delegation, which arrived in the southern port city of Zamboanga on Monday, was headed by Captain Nasarrudin Bin Othman, he said.

"The Philippines and Malaysia are closely coordinating on how to fight terrorism at sea," Uy told reporters inside the tightly guarded navy headquarters here.

Discussing procedures

Discussions were also being held on ways to boost cooperation during pursuit of pirates or terrorists who may stray into the neighbours' sea borders, he said.

"We are currently discussing procedures on how to go about it and how far to allow each other's navy forces to get into Malaysia or the Philippine territories and how fast can we react on terror threats," Uy said.

Malaysia and the Philippines enjoy a common sea border frequented by pirates and members of the Filipino Muslim Abu Sayyaf gang, considered a terrorist organization by the US government and which has alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Abu Sayyaf guerrillas using speed boats raided two nearby Malaysian resorts and abducted dozens of mostly European hostages, setting off an international hostage crisis that spanned several months.

All the hostages were freed later allegedly after huge ransom payments.

The following year, the Abu Sayyaf struck again and kidnapped three Americans and several Filipino tourists from a Philippine beach resort. Two of the Americans died, while one was rescued after more than a year in captivity. - AFP