Malaysia said Saturday it was confident a key Southeast Asian summit in the Philippines would be free of terrorist attacks despite warnings from Australia, Britain, Canada and the US, state media said.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia had assessed the security situation and was confident that Manila had taken steps to ensure safety at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.

After Malaysia "had done its evaluation, we believe the Philippine government has taken the appropriate measures to ensure the security of the leaders from Asean during the summit," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

The annual Asean summit and meetings with the grouping's East Asian dialogue partners were scheduled for December on the central Philippine island of Cebu, but were postponed at the last minute until January 10 to 15.

The gathering was called off after Philippine President Gloria Arroyo cited worries over an approaching typhoon.

Travel advisories

However, Canada, Britain, Australia and the United States issued travel advisories last month warning of a possible terror attack in Cebu, and the warnings were seen by many as the reason for the cancellation.

Embassies for Canada, Britain and Australia in the Philippines were Friday still warning of a possible terrorist threat days before Asian leaders were due to arrive in Cebu.

Syed Hamid said he was hopeful the summit would proceed smoothly despite the warnings, Bernama reported.

The Philippine government has confirmed attendance by all 16 heads of state of Asean member countries and their East Asian dialogue partners.