Phnom Penh, June 18: Members of Asia's top security umbrella, the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), must unite to fight the scourge of terrorism, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said today as he chaired the high-level security talks. Hor Namhong said there had been some positive developments in combating terrorism within southeast Asia but there was also a need for states to work more closely together.
"There is no doubt that our notion of security has been drastically changed as we re-examined the concept of security in a broader and more holistic approach," he said.
"Transnational crime requires that not only states must become more resilient in the ways they deal with those security issues but more importantly that they must work even closer together, especially in the ARF framework."
Cambodia and Australia earlier signed a counter-terrorism agreement to boost cooperation among the two countries, with Australia to provide training, education and technical assistance programs to the southeast Asian nation.
"Cooperation also will intensify between officials from other relevant agencies such as customs, immigration and transport," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
"As a result, intelligence exchanges on terrorism matters will increase and our efforts on law enforcement, combating terrorist financing and controlling our borders will be enhanced," he said.
Bureau Report