The radical Islamic preacher, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, has said he will resist all efforts by Indonesian police to detain him, if he is released from hospital.

The Bali attack has raised new terror fears

Mr Ba'asyir - who is under formal detention in his hospital bed for the alleged involvement in a spate of bomb attacks on Christian churches in Indonesia in 2000 - said he was willing to be questioned by the police, but that he could only be arrested by force.

He has also been linked to the militant Jemaah Islamiyah group, which Indonesia believes is allied to al-Qaeda and was behind the Bali bombing on 12 October that killed almost 200 people.

Doctors have said that Mr Ba'asyir could be discharged from hospital on Monday.

Mr Ba'asyir's statement comes as Indonesia is being put under increasing pressure to tackle militants at a summit of Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) in Mexico.

Heads of state from the Apec countries have already agreed on a range of new policies aimed at preventing terrorist attacks, and are expected to adopt a final declaration later on Sunday.

Ba'sayir defiant

Mr Ba'asyir, who was taken to the hospital two weeks ago with respiratory problems, denies any links to al-Qaeda and has not been named as a suspect in the Bali attack.

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He also denies being a leader of the Jemaah Islamiah, which, he said, was a make-believe organisation.

However, he said he would allow police to question after he leaves hospital.

"I will respect the summons and will go to questioning. But my detainment is [illegal]," he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"The terrorist government of America and its allies have always wanted me detained."

Mr Ba'asyir comments come as US President George W Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard have urged Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to do more to curb militants.

During their face-to-face talks with President Megawati at the Apec summit, both Mr Bush and Mr Howard praised the steps Indonesia has taken to fight extremists.

But they added that the country still had a long way to go.

Tough security reforms

At their annual summit at the Mexican resort of Cabo San Lucas, leaders from 21 Apec nations also agreed a wide range of counter-terrorist measures.

They want to put in place tough security reforms for the transport of goods, as well as cracking down on money laundering.

A special attention was paid to the trade by sea between the Apec nations, which runs into trillions of dollars.

The leaders agreed to strengthen the procedures for pre-checking cargo containers to make sure they are not being used by terrorist groups.

Also on the list of agreements was a commitment to tighten up the monitoring of remittances sent across the region by overseas workers and the flow of funds through charitable institutions.

Both are seen as key areas of funding for militant groups across the world.

These measures will be complemented later on Sunday by further counter-terrorism policies when the heads of state reveal the summit's final declaration.

They are likely to include ambitious plans to standardise customs procedures across the Apec region within the next three years.