MINISTER of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof yesterday stressed that Brunei Darussalam maintains a hard stance against Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) movements.
“Through the exchange of intelligence and close cooperation with partner countries, Brunei Darussalam continuously maintains a database of known regional and international FTFs,” he said.
The minister was speaking at the Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter Terrorism in Jakarta, co-hosted by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs General Wiranto, and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton.
“Brunei Darussalam will continue to play an active role in regional initiatives to deter the movements of suspected militants,” said the minister, while also stating that Brunei Darussalam has undertaken various approaches in handling the terrorist threat, as well as the infiltration of radical ideology and propaganda into the country.
“Relevant security and law enforcement agencies participate in various inter-agency efforts, as well as engaging the private sector and the public in adopting a whole-of-nation approach,” he said.
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi led the Brunei delegation in his capacity as Chairman of the National Security Committee (NSC).
Ministers, heads of delegations and senior officials from Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand also attended the event.
The three main issues deliberated were ‘Manado Meeting and Beyond: Domestic Approaches to Prevent and Deter Cross-Border Movement of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Including Returnees and Deportees’; ‘Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism, Including Counter-Radicalisation’; and ‘Countering Terrorist Misuse of Technology and the Internet’.
Brunei Darussalam and Thailand led the discussion on ‘How security agencies in the region can work more closely to share information and intelligence data to track terrorist movements’, as one of the sub-main issues of the meeting.
On the sidelines of the event, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi held two separate bilateral meetings – the first with New Zealand Minister of Justice Andrew Little and the second with Singaporean Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam.
Also in attendance were senior officials from the NSC.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the leaders affirmed their commitment to the principles and implementation of United Nation’s Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2396, adopted on December 21, 2017, which calls on all states to enhance their focus on measures to address returning foreign terrorist fighters and transnational terrorist groups.
They also welcomed delivery of counter terrorism training by the Australian border security officials, to enhance detection of suspected foreign terrorist fighters in the region.
The leaders agreed to a regional study group meeting focussed on strengthening legislative responses to combat the threat of foreign terrorist fighters in the region, co-led by Australia and Indonesia.
They also agreed to support strengthened partnerships between women-led and youth-led Civil Society Organisation (CSO) in the region; and workshops focussed on advancing women and youth empowerment and inclusion in addressing violent extremism in the region.
Additionally, they welcomed the efforts by Australia and Malaysia to look into the possibilities of developing a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) practitioner guide on strategic communications that could be utilised across this region.
Noting the importance of ongoing discussion on regional security challenges, it was agreed that a further Ministerial-level Sub-Regional Meeting would be held in 2019.