Indonesia promotes counterterrorism strategies at ASEAN forum

Indonesia pursued an initiative to improve counterterrorism strategies with partners and ASEAN countries through the 19th Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Working Group on Counter Terrorism which took place on May 18 in Bali, Indonesia.

Deputy for international cooperation at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Andika Chrisnayudanto said the meeting served as a platform to improve collaboration among the ASEAN countries in combating terrorism, including in the prevention and law enforcement aspects.

"This is an annual meeting. Coincidentally, Indonesia is the chair for ASEAN on terrorism handling, so every year, Indonesia is tasked to lead this working group, which focuses on counterterrorism," he was quoted by Antara news agency in a statement released on May 18.

The meeting was vital since fighting against organised transnational crime requires collaboration between many stakeholders, including ones outside ASEAN, he noted.

Andika said that the meeting served as a chance for ASEAN countries to exchange knowledge, information, experiences, and good practices, as well as discuss future plans for tackling terror issues.

One counterterrorism initiative discussed at the forum was the Bali Work Plan 2019–2025, which was unveiled at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in 2019, he said, elaborating that the document outlines efforts to prevent and handle violent extremism and radicalism in the Southeast Asian region.

According to Andika, the outcomes of the meeting will be submitted to the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime scheduled on June 19 to 23 in Yogyakarta as well as ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime to be hosted by Indonesia in Lubuan Bajo in August this year.