Terrorists operating in Southeast Asia will be targeted in a pan-regional pact designed to enhance intelligence sharing and disrupt potential attackers’ ability to communicate through digital messaging.
“Terrorism is a truly global threat, as digital as it is dangerous,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Saturday at the signing of a counter-terrorism memorandum of understanding at his country’s special summit with Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Sydney. “The use of social media and encrypted messaging applications is a challenge for us all, and one we must tackle together.”
The nations committed to improve legislative and enforcement tools to combat the cross-border movement of extremists, including obtaining and using electronic communications evidence for prosecutions. They also pledged to increase legislative efforts to boost counter-terrorism financing and information-sharing between members.
