By Manny Mogato

MANILA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines will form a super-agency to check movements of smugglers and Islamic militants along its borders with Malaysia and Indonesia, a senior official said on Saturday.

Efren Abu, a former Philippine military chief and special envoy to a sub-region within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the creation of a coast watch network would also boost trade and tourism in the area.

"We want these tri-border areas to be teeming with ships carrying consumer goods and tourists, not with weapons, illicit drugs and terrorists," Abu told Reuters in an interview.

Abu said the proposed coast watch network, patterned after an Australian model, would streamline the functions of 18 agencies, including customs, immigration and quarantine, improving coordination.

He did not say when it would be created.

Late last year, the Malaysians created such a body while the Indonesians set up their own border security office in one of their eastern provinces early this year.

Abu said the United States and Australia were willing to help the Philippine government beef up its border facilities, including equipment such as surveillance and communications systems. They also promised to provide training.

"We already have existing bilateral border patrol agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia, the way ahead is to set up a larger multilateral mechanism," Abu said.

Abu is a special envoy to the East ASEAN growth area known as BIMP-EAGA, which consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In 1994, the four countries agreed to spur economic development in the sub-region, a resource-rich but impoverished area due to its remoteness, a tradition of piracy and a separatist conflict in the southern Philippines, which has attracted militants from across the region.

The area, home to nearly 50 million people, has huge potential in fisheries and agro-industrial industries, such as timber, tropical fruits, palm oil and rubber. It is also believed to be rich in metals, oil and gas deposits.

The four countries have opened up air and sea links in the area but security is still lacking.

"Improving maritime border security could be the key to unlocking the hidden treasures in the growth area," Abu said.

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