Philippines attends counter-terrorism meeting in Thailand

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines joined 16 other countries in a three-day counter-terrorism meeting held in Chang Mai, Thailand.

The Interpol meeting in Thailand attended by 43 law enforcement and counter-terrorism officers from 16 countries addressed the emerging terrorism trends and information-sharing on foreign terrorist fighters throughout the Asia-Pacific 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,” head of the Interpol National Central Bureau in Thailand Police Major General Apichat Suriboonya said.

“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,” he added.

Among the terrorism trends discussed in the meeting were the use of the Internet by terrorists for radicalization and law enforcement evidence-gathering procedures relating to terrorist groups using social media.

Interpol said the working group’s findings will result in an Intelligence Assessment in the Emerging Terrorist Threats and Trends in the region.

The counter-terrorism meeting held from February 23 to 25 is co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police. It was also supported by the Canadian government as part of the INTERPOL Capacity Building Programme on Countering Transnational Terrorism and Other Security Threats in Southeast Asia.

The meeting gathered working group represented by countries Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.  

Yohanes Agus Mulyono, executive director at the ASEANAPOL Secretariat and International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research representative in Singapore also participated in the meeting. — Rosette Adel