The United States is keen to help set up an international tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean where giant waves crushed coastlines from Malaysia to Africa on Dec. 26, an official has said.

An international early warning system in the region would be more effective than individual national systems in reducing the effects of tsunamis on lives and properties, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly told reporters after visiting coastal villages in Kota Kuala Muda which were the hardest hit in Kedah state by the tsunami. The tsunami on Dec. 26 last year was triggered by a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Aceh of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Kelly arrived in Malaysia Saturday after touring the affected areas in Aceh. He is expected to meet Malaysian officials on Monday. 

"It has to be international in the Indian Ocean. If each country tries to do it, it is a help but it will be much better if this is worked on internationally," he said.

A global donor conference in Jakarta last week agreed on the setting up of an international early warning system.

Kelly said US agencies had started coordinating efforts among themselves and international agencies to learn from the experiences of the recent tsunamis and work towards building up an early warning system in the Indian Ocean.

He said the United States would send a significant delegation to an international conference on tsunami in Kobe, Japan, later this month.

"The force of nature is so great, but if we had had a warning system maybe some lives could have been saved. Those areas further away from Aceh, like Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar could have done better," he said.

"But we learn from experience. We will try to minimize the effects of tsunamis," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2005)