4 S.E. Asian countries to sign air route agreement

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 6 Kyodo

Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines will ink an agreement next week to further open up air travel between the four countries, Malaysian Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said Wednesday.

The official news agency Bernama quoted him as saying that the agreement, under the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area initiative, would allow unlimited flight frequencies and schedules between 13 cities of the four countries.

''It is a very liberal arrangement. It marks a milestone development toward aviation liberation within ASEAN countries,'' he was quoted as saying.

The Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area is a sub-regional economic zone under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations umbrella.

Chan said the agreement would be signed on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Philippines next week.

The 13 cities involved are Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei; Balikpapan, Manado, Pontianak and Tarakan in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Labuan and Miri in Malaysia; and Davao City, General Santos, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga in the Philippines.

The 10-member ASEAN also includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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