MANILA - President Arroyo said Monday she would discuss counter-terrorism measures with her US counterpart Barack Obama when she meets him at the White House later this week.

Arroyo, the first Southeast Asian leader to be invited by Obama to visit Washington, said the July 30 one-on-one meeting underscored "strong and deep ties" between the two countries.

"High on our agenda will be peace and security issues," Arroyo said in an address to the Philippine Congress.

She said her talks with Obama would also discuss "terrorism -- how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in historical injustice or religious prejudice."

Washington considers the Philippines a major non-NATO ally, and has been providing assistance and training to help its military crush Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks.

Since 2003, small numbers of US forces have been rotating in the southern Philippines, providing intelligence that has led to the capture or killing of top militants.

Arroyo's visit also comes at a time when Southeast Asian neighbours -- particularly the Philippines and Indonesia -- are increasing their intelligence cooperation after a spate of deadly bombings blamed on militants.

A July 17 bombing of two luxury hotels in Jakarta, killing seven, has been blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an Islamist group believed by intelligence agencies to be Al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm.

The group is believed to have also helped the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf group to carry out bombings on the southern island of Mindanao early this month in which eight people were killed and over 100 injured.