CANBERRA, Oct. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday said a spy school will be set up in an effort to enhance national security if the ruling coalition is re-elected in Saturday's federal election.

    Announcing the package while campaigning in Adelaide, capital of the state of South Australia, Howard said "Australia and Australian interests continue to be terrorist targets."

    "This was tragically underlined by the bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta only a few weeks ago (in which nine people were killed)," he said.

    "Credible and timely intelligence is far and away the best counter-terrorism capacity we have," said Howard.

    Under the package, agents from Australia and its neighbors in South East Asia and the Pacific region will be jointly trained.

    Linguistic capability of Australia's spy agent, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), will be improved to enhance its capacity to undertake background security checks on people seeking to lawfully enter Australia.

    An ASIO business liaison unit will also be created to strengthen coordination and information flows between business and the intelligence community.

    Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the coalitionwould double money used in counter-terrorism programs in Indonesia and the Philippines over five years if re-elected. Enditem