KUALA LUMPUR - SOUTHEAST Asian leaders will meet in Beijing next week to discuss measures to deal with the global financial crisis, the regional bloc's top official said on Friday.

The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Dr Surin Pitsuwan, said the summit of the 10-nation grouping will be held on Oct 23 or Oct 24, and may also include leaders from China, Japan and South Korea.

'I like to stress this is certainly not a panic reaction. This is a precautionary step. We know that is extremely critical,' Dr Surin told reporters in the Malaysian capital.

'No matter how strong, how resilient we are, how good we are, we will be affected one way or the other,' he said.

Governments around the world have already pledged to spend some $3.2 trillion (S$4.75 trillion) to try to resolve a global credit crisis that is now threatening to push the developed nations that much of Asia relies on for exports into recession.

Dr Surin said the Asean meeting would discuss ways to support the currencies of member countries by strengthening the emergency fund already in place.

'I think that (meeting in Beijing) is good. The issue is legitimate. We do believe that we are in better shape than 10 years ago,' Dr Surin said.

East Asian countries earlier this year proposed setting up an $80 billion currency swap agreement, expanding a much more modest agreement that was set up in the wake of the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis to protect any country facing a balance of payments crisis.

'They can work around that, they can strengthen that, they can come up with provisions, rules, regulations. That sum can be implemented for possible needs, possible necessity,' Dr Surin said.

Asian leaders are already due to meet their European counterparts in Beijing for the Asia-Europe summit (ASEM) on Oct 24-25, where talks are bound to focus on the crisis.

Among the latest Asian measures to counter the financial storm, Singapore and Malaysia on Thursday pledged to guarantee all local and foreign currency bank deposits, something other governments across the world have also done to shore up confidence in their banking systems.

The neighbouring states announced within minutes of each other they will guarantee bank deposits until December 2010.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- REUTERS