A joint draft statement for the summit, circulated among the participants, welcomes debt relief for devastated Asian countries and supports an early warning system. It requests the United Nations mobilize the international community and calls for stronger coordination and cooperation of relief efforts.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who arrived here on Wednesday for the summit, said that China will increase its aid to the disaster-stricken countries when meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo, Maldive President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai of Thailand and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Wen said that the international community and the countries hit by the tsunami disaster are now faced with a very serious challenge of disease-prevention and reconstruction and rehabilitation after the primary rescue operations have ended.

He said that China has decided to increase its aid to the tsunami-hit countries and the Chinese non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross and ordinary Chinese people have been mobilized to collect aid donations to the victims of the disaster.

During his meeting with President Susilo Yudhoyo, Wen said that Indonesia suffered the heaviest losses during the tsunami disaster and China is deeply worried by the situation in the country.

He said that China will continue to provide aid to Indonesia and will send more medical teams to the country to help prevent an outbreak of diseases and cure the wounded in the disaster.

Wen said that China is also ready to help Indonesia repair roads, bridges, power stations, schools and hospitals and train personnel in the field.

Susilo said Indonesia welcomes Chinese companies to come to participate in the reconstruction of the country's disaster-hit areas. He also expressed his hope that China can help train earthquake and tsunami detecting personnel for the country.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga will not attend the summit as they are busy with relief work in their respective countries. However, their envoy will be present.

In a letter to Susilo, Kumaratunga said Wednesday the international community will "continue with their assistance for the rehabilitation and the reconstruction work in the affected countries in the immediate, medium and long term."

Kumaratunga said the meeting showcased a spirit of fellowship and fortitude and above all essence of responsibility, calling forthe United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations to vigorously support the ongoing relief endeavors and take concerted measures to overcome the adverse effects of the tsunami catastrophe.

The Indonesian police have raised the alert status to its maximum in Jakarta.

"Jakarta is now under the maximum security level because it is going to host several world leaders," Sen. Comr. Tjiptono, spokesman for the Jakarta provincial police, said here Wednesday.

He said around 2,000 officers have been deployed to safeguard the event with supporting personnel from the military and anti-terror units.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who holds the European Union (EU) rotating presidency, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be among the high-profile attendants of the meeting.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, UNICEF chief Carol Bellamy will also be present at the meeting, called by Indonesia a week ago to smooth the colossal and sometimes disorganized relief operation in tsunami-devastated coastal areas from Asia to Africa.

The nations that suffered the most in the Dec. 26 calamity, such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, hope to get technical help to apply an early warning system in the future, such as the one which exists for the Pacific Ocean.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said after his talks with Powell Tuesday that Thailand would welcome US technical assistance to build an early warning system to guard against tsunamis.

"Thailand is ready to be the center for the regional warning center and if there is no agreement (at the Jakarta summit) we areready to set up our own," Surakiart said.

India has installed new computer equipment to monitor ocean movement while Indonesia also called in its scientists to start work on an alert mechanism.

The death toll from the catastrophe has neared 140,000, with 52 countries reporting nationals dead or injured. Indonesia alone witnessed over 94,000 deaths, Sri Lanka over 30,000 and India close to 10,000. The United Nations estimates the total number of dead will exceed 150,000.

Massive tsunamis smashed coastlines and wiped off villages after a magnitude 8.7 deep-sea earthquake occurred off Indonesia'scoast on Dec. 26. It is estimated that more than 1.8 million people need food aid and 5 million others are homeless in the tsunami-hit regions.

The carnage shocked the international community and aid and donations continue to pour in every day. More than 40 countries and international organizations pledged donations or sent rescue teams to the disaster areas. The donations has topped 2 billion USdollars, surpassing the total humanitarian aid the United Nations received in 2004.

But rescue work has been hampered by poor communication and transport conditions as most of the worst-hit areas are underdeveloped regions lacking basic infrastructure and facilities.

The relief efforts are far from glitch-free, the worst incident being a cargo plane accident Tuesday which caused the close-down of the airstrip at Banda Aceh, the main hub for Indonesian relief shipments.