An advance copy of his speech to a Washington audience shows Khaw Boon Wan will also urge the world's leading economic and military power to remain fully engaged in Asia to underpin regional security.

The unusually blunt and wide-ranging speech appears to underline a rising fear among Singapore establishment that should US foreign policy in the Middle East alienate large numbers of Muslims in Asia, the ramifications could unsettle island-state's peaceful society.

"We have a vested interest in not allowing the war against terrorism from becoming a generalised conflict with Islam," Mr Khaw, the Minister of State for Information and Transport, will tell delegates at a conference.

"If ever there is a clash of civilisations between Islam and the West, the front lines will run right through Singapore society, and will split it apart," Mr Khaw will say.

The multi-ethnic country has already felt the domestic ramifications of the September 11 attacks, with 31 suspected Islamic militants taken into preventive custody on suspicion that they were planning a wave of terror strikes. Some of those held are said to have links to al-Qaeda.

As the crackdown has intensified, however, some foreign and domestic critics have suggested that the authorities are overstating the extent of the challenge.

The critics have accused officials of playing up the domestic threat to justify the continued use of repressive legislation, and provide local evidence for aligning Singapore's interests with those of Washington. These charges are denied by ministers.

Singapore's 3.2 million population is predominantly ethnic-Chinese but the island also has substantial minorities of ethnic Indians and Malays.

In his address, Mr Khaw also plans to emphasise - as Singapore ministers often do - the Southeast Asian nation's physical vulnerability.

"We are still a little red dot on the map, a small and vulnerable country," he will say. "We still have to make a living for ourselves, ensure the security of our homes and families and build a better future for our children in an uncertain world."

He will also stress that Washington should remain engaged in Asia, buttressing the region's stability and preventing the emergence of conditions that would allow terrorism to thrive.

"The US presence will contribute significantly to regional stability. This is critical because without stability, there can be no economic development. And without economic development, there would be political chaos and abject poverty, the ideal conditions for extremism."

Although it has cordial relations with Beijing, Singapore is one of Washington's staunchest allies in Asia.

Singapore regularly plays host to visiting US forces and has offered the use of naval and aviation facilities to aid the United States war against terrorism.

This support includes use of Changi naval base, the only purpose-built facility in Southeast Asia capable of accommodating the most advanced generation of US aircraft carriers.

"Terrorism ... is not indigenous to Southeast Asia. It is a problem imported from abroad. But the danger is that it may become endemic to the region," Mr Khaw will stress. "From the security angle, developments in Southeast Asia will have ramifications beyond the region."

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