CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Addressing emerging terrorism trends and information-sharing on Foreign Terrorist Fighters throughout the Asia-Pacific region was the focus of an INTERPOL meeting in Thailand.
The use of the Internet by terrorists for radicalization and law enforcement evidence-gathering procedures relating to terrorist groups using social media were also key issues during the three-day INTERPOL Project Pacific working group meeting, which gathered 43 law enforcement and counter-terrorism officers from 16 countries.
The working group’s findings will result in an Intelligence Assessment in the Emerging Terrorist Threats and Trends in the region.
“The Bangkok terror attack last August, followed by a string of incidents in France, Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere demonstrated the current threat posed by both individuals and terrorist networks,” said Police Major General Apichat Suriboonya, Head of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Thailand.
“This working group meeting provided the Asia-Pacific region with the opportunity to compare the different, national, policing capabilities, and identify a way forward for the future,” concluded the Major General.
Countries represented at the working group which met from 23 to 25 February were Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.
The meeting, co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police, was supported by the Canadian government as part of the INTERPOL Capacity Building Programme on Countering Transnational Terrorism and Other Security Threats in Southeast Asia.
Yohanes Agus Mulyono, Executive Director at the ASEANAPOL Secretariat also participated in the meeting, as well as a representative from the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.