With the aim of continuing the framework of cooperation in the areas of mutual interest, an introductory meeting was held on 9th November 2022 between ASEANAPOL Secretariat and the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), ASEANAPOL Secretariat office.
At the meeting, Mr. Jean Philippe Morange, BMLE Coordinator, United Nations Security Council CTED, Mr. Darius Wei Myn Teo, Head of RCTN Asia Pacific, Counter-Terrorism Directorate, and Ms. Rachel E. Manis, Head of Programme United Nations Threat Assessment Models for Aviation Security, were cordially welcomed by the Executive Director of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Pol. Brig. Gen. Zaw Lin Tun, Director for Police Services, Pol. Snr. Superintendent Joni Getamala, Director for Plans and Programmes, Pol. Superintendent Tang Yik Tung, Head of Administrative and Technical Staffs, Superintendent Azrul Hisham bin Mohd Shaffei and fellow officers.
As an introduction, Mr. Jean Philippe Morange expressed his gratitude to the ASEANAPOL for forging a partnership and for the continuous support rendered to CTED. Henceforth, CTED also looking forward to collaborating by focusing on the possibilities of potential cooperation in the near future, in terms of sharing information, especially on the way forward in counter-terrorism matters.
Mr. Darius Wei Myn Teo had expressed his gratitude to ASEANAPOL Secretariat’s participation and continuous support in Operation Trigger Salvo throughout the year. He indicated that although INTERPOL Global Crime Trends Report showed that terrorism is the third priority in Asia and the Pacific region, which according to him, it could be mainly due to the pandemic factor where traveling was restricted but it does not mean terrorism activity will not resurface anytime.
During the meeting, the Executive Director highlighted those ten (10) core areas of Transnational Organized Crimes that are top priority for ASEANAPOL in which, Counter-Terrorism is one that ASEANAPOL is focusing on now. He also expressed his appreciation towards Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, was adopted by Special meeting of Counter Terrorism Committee in last month, in Delhi, India.
Furthermore he looked forward to work with UNCTED in the fields of counter terrorism strategy development in respective countries in the region and the capacity building on financing of terrorism, border control and arm smuggling. In addition, Executive Director shared the information sharing mechanism among member countries through e-ADS 2.0 database system as well as other reliable channels.
The Director for Police Service also enlightened on the recent cases related to terrorism in Southeast Asia, as the crimes are getting more complex and terrorists are increasingly able to bypass law-enforcement measures and deploy other methods of recruitment from ASEAN countries.
The discussion focused mainly on connectivity in terms of sharing needful information in a timely manner. Both sides can share mutual understanding on counter terrorism and look forward to build a better working relationship in the future. The meeting was concluded fruitfully.