Indonesia, Australia discuss terror threat

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, at the ‘9th Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Council Meeting’ in Melbourne, Australia, on March 14, 2023. (Photo: ANTARA)

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia’s CoordinatingMinister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD and Australia’sCyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil discussed the latent threat of terrorismat the “9th Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM)” on March 14.

In the Southeast Asian region, terrorism and radicalismstill pose serious threats, the Indonesian minister said at the meeting held inMelbourne, noting that terrorism is a latent threat, driven byideological, political, and social conflicts, and that is why cooperation betweenIndonesia and Australia is required at various levels to eradicate the threat.

Various terror groups affiliated with ISIS and AlQaeda still have the potential to disrupt regional stability, he said.

During the meeting, the two ministers also talkedabout Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF), online radicalisation, the radicalisationof women and the younger generation, as well as the progress of efforts made tocombat terrorism and violent extremism.

Radicalisation through social media or the Internet requiresmore attention, considering that most of the terror attacks are carried out bylone wolves, and most of the perpetrators are victims of radicalisation viasocial media or the Internet, Mahfud said.

Furthermore, Indonesia and Australia havecollaborated well in combating terrorism and violent extremism through variousforms of bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation, he added.

At the sub-regional level, the two countriesco-chaired the “Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism andTransnational Security”.

Indonesia and Australia also co-chaired the “SeniorOfficial Counter-Terrorism Policy Forum (SOCTPF) Meeting./.

VNA