In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that at the sidelines of the ongoing 35th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Brunei, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong signed the Protocol of Accession to the counter-terrorism pact. The tripartite agreement was signed on May 7 during the working visit of President Arroyo to Malaysia.
Philippine Special Envoy Domingo Siazon Jr., Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Indonesian Foreign Minister N. Hassan Wirajuda witnessed the signing immediately after they signed the protocol extending the agreement to Cambodia.
Cambodia’s accession came at an auspicious time as counter-terrorism and security cooperation is taking center stage at this year’s AMM, post-ministerial conferences and ASEAN Regional Forum.
Aimed at implementing the 2001 ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Combat Terrorism and seen as a significant contribution to the global campaign against terrorism, the agreement enables Cambodia to join the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in establishing a framework to facilitate cooperation and the interoperability of their procedures or arrangements for addressing border and security incidents, including terrorist activities and other transnational crimes, occurring within their territories.
Cambodia’s accession will also allow it to participate in several of the doable projects meant to fast-track the accord’s implementation, such as the establishment of standard operating procedures on search and rescue, the setting up of hot lines, the sharing of airline passenger lists, the strengthening of border control and the conduct of joint training and exercises to combat terrorism and other transnational crimes.
Siazon earlier called on other ASEAN members to accede to the agreement in order to plug the loopholes in regional cooperation, not only in counter-terrorism but also in the fight against drug trafficking, money laundering and other crimes. Brunei and Thailand are expected to accede to the agreement soon.