"We agreed that the principal area of cooperation, the most important area of cooperation, would be in the field of intelligence," Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said after closed-door talks with Tan.

Their meeting opened Tan's three-day visit here, which is to focus on security issues.

Reyes said Tan, who is also his country's defense minister, offered assurances that "all assistance, all cooperation will be extened to us in the area of intelligence and that will include sharing of information" obtained from arrested suspects in Singapore.

Singapore warned last month that indications of a suicide element among Muslim extremists in Southeast Asia have significantly increased the terrorist danger in the region and required firm action.

The republic has detained 31 alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyahregional terror group accused of plotting to blow up local and foreign targets on the island.

JI, believed linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, is also of concern to the Philippines, which is battling Muslim bandits and rebels in the troubled south.

Two Indonesians allegedly linked to JI were arrested in the Philippines earlier this year while reportedly planning bomb attacks.

Asked about the terror threat in Southeast Asia, Reyes said "the assessment of most countries in the region is that the threat is real, the threat is transnational (and) requires regional, as well as global cooperation."

"You have to assume that (an attack) will happen anywhere, anytime," Reyes added.

Tan is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, part of his visit to "underscore the deep and multi-faceted" bilateral relations and cooperation, including in economics, culture, and defence, the two governments said in separate statements.

Singapore and the Philippines also cooperate in counter-terrorism by exchanging security information, a Singapore defence ministry statement said.

The October 12 attack on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that left more than 190 dead has sparked alarm among regional governments seeking to devise effective strategies to combat terrorism.

Tan, accompanied by senior military officers, was also to meet members of the Singaporean community here before leaving Wednesday.

Singapore is a top investor in the Philippines as well as a leading trading partner.

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