Japan wants to boost military cooperation with other Asian countries in the fight against terrorism, Deputy Premier Najib Razak said today after talks with Japanese defence chief Yoshinori Ono.

Najib, who is also defence minister, told a news conference Ono had "expressed interest in boosting military cooperaton with countries in the region to combat the threat of terrorism".

Ono, who earlier visited Indonesia and Singapore to discuss joint efforts to help victims of the Dec 26 tsunami disaster, did not attend the news conference.

Najib said Ono had also voiced hopes the Malacca Straits, which slices between the Malaysian peninsular and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, would be safe for Japan-bound oil tankers amid fears of terrorist attacks.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in August launched coordinated patrols of the narrow waterway, which carries half the world's oil supplies and a third of global trade.

New initiatives

Ono explained there would be changes in Japan's defence policy to take into account "new threats including the missile threat from North Korea", Najib said, without elaborating.

Najib said he welcomed Japan's desire for a more active international role and further involvement in United Nations' peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations.

"My response is that as long as it is within the ambit of UN in terms of a peacekeeping role and for them to participate in humanitarian efforts overseas, countries like Malaysia welcome such new initiatives," Najib said.

Ono issued an order on Friday to dispatch about 1,000 Japanese troops to Indonesia to help tsunami victims in the country's biggest overseas deployment since World War II.