Of rains, floods, landslides and diseases

CANBERRA (AFP) - Australia and the Philippines signed a security agreement Thursday allowing joint counter-terrorism exercises between the armed forces of the two nations.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo witnessed the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement during an official visit to the Australian capital.

"This is an agreement that will help us to modernise and professionalise our armed forces, it will help the inter-operability of our armed forces in the fight against terrorism," Arroyo told reporters at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

"Overall, it will be good for the battle against terrorism."

Australia already provides counter-terrorism training to troops in the Philippines' restive south, but Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said the new agreement provided a legal framework to expand military cooperation.

"Ongoing cooperation between the two nations is vital to addressing regional and broader security concerns, including the fight against transnational terrorism," Nelson said.

"Military exercises increase mutual confidence amongst regional defence forces that may have to operate together in global and regional contingencies, such as peacekeeping or natural disaster relief."

Nelson said the agreement did not provide authorisation for Australia to deploy troops or conduct operations in the Philippines.

Nelson said Australia was helping the Philippines develop a force of 30 boats to patrol the riverine and marshland areas in the southern island of Mindanao.

It is believed the patrol boats will be used to hunt down members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group behind the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, in which a total of 222 people died, including 92 Australians.