SINGAPORE, Nov. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research in Singapore's Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS), warned on Tuesday of the probability of a maritime terrorist attack in Southeast Asia.

    According to Channel NewsAsia report on Tuesday, Gunaratna said at an IDSS workshop on maritime security that terrorists have been found to be developing their underwater demolition capability.

    Having 18 years of operational, policy and academic experience in counter terrorism, Gunaratna noted that a manual on how to set up and run a diving school was found in Kandahar and some interest in basic diving training has been detected in the region.

    Warning governments in the region to get prepared for a maritime terrorist threat from both the surface and underwater, Gunaratna was quoted as saying that such attacks can be deterred if governments target the terrorist land infrastructure.

    Singapore, as one of the littoral states along the Malacca Straits which transports 30 percent of the world's trade and half of the world's oil every year, has been attaching great importance to maritime security. Enditem