ASEAN strengthens counter-terrorism cooperation in the digital age

On June 24, the Southeast Asia Regional Counter-Terrorism Center (SEARCCT) under the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an international conference with the theme "Emerging Trends in Terrorism and Violent Extremism" in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

According to a VNA correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, the conference attracted more than 200 domestic and international delegates, focusing on discussing the complex and rapidly changing context of modern terrorism, while calling for enhanced regional and global cooperation to effectively respond to the growing threats.

Speaking at the opening of the conference on behalf of the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dato' Ahmad Rozian Bin Abd. Ghani stressed that the global security environment is increasingly unstable, as terrorism is fueled by extremist ideology, geopolitical conflicts and political disagreements.

In an increasingly connected world , terrorist groups are constantly adapting, exploiting the digital environment and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies to recruit, propagate and finance violent activities.

He assessed that this conference is in line with ASEAN's agenda on security and adaptation, and affirmed Malaysia's pioneering role in promoting regional stability through counter-terrorism initiatives.

The conference also reaffirmed ASEAN's commitment to implementing cooperation plans such as the ASEAN Plan of Action to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism (PoA-PCRVE 2018-2025), the Bali Plan (2019-2025) and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

The conference took place from June 24-26 with 5 in-depth discussion sessions.

Speaking to VNA reporters after the first session, themed “The transformation of extremism in cyberspace,” Dr. Norfadhilah Mohamad Ali (University of Islamic Sciences Malaysia) emphasized the importance of controlling the digital media environment, which is no longer safe for young people.

Referring to social media safety control measures, Ms. Norfadhilah Mohamad Ali said that laws are important but always lag behind the actual situation. Therefore, those working in the legal industry, both in government and in the research community, will have to make more efforts to evaluate and propose things that the government should adjust.

Laws need to be adjusted more quickly to be able to safely and effectively manage the media or the social aspects of the media. In addition, it is important to understand the current laws. Young people who are educated early and well about the law will have a more law-abiding future generation.

Ms. Norfadhilah Mohamad Ali said that extremism is very dangerous so young people need to be taught how to recognize and the consequences of extremism in society. Young people must be more proactive in understanding today's world.

In the second session, Asrul Daniel Ahmed, Director of Digital Strategic Communications at SEARCCT, warned about the trend of using generative AI by extremist groups. He called on counter-terrorism organizations to proactively apply similar technology to effectively control this situation.

Malaysia is currently implementing the National Action Plan to Combat Extremism and Violent Extremism, MyPCVE, which represents the country’s comprehensive efforts in responding to non-traditional security challenges.

SEARCCT is a regional center with a key role in training, capacity building, counter-terrorism communications and public awareness raising.

This conference is a clear demonstration of the region's joint efforts in proactively dealing with emerging security threats./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/asean-tang-cuong-hop-tac-chong-khung-bo-trong-ky-nguyen-so-post1046152.vnp