The Riyadh-based Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), which consists of 41 Islamic countries, launched its inaugural summit last Sunday.
The latest development in counterterrorism cooperation has rekindled discussion on the creation of a similar body in the Southeast Asian region.
“Joint (intra-state) and combined (inter-state) counterterrorism begins with, and is sustained by, dialogue between agencies and partner states,” a counterterrorism expert at Australia’s Bond University told FMT.
“A state’s national interests will always dictate actions and override regional interests. However, Asean has proven to be a unique entity in terms of inter-state cooperation in non-security related issues.
“I believe the focus should be on capacity building, training and equipping, joint/combined operations and continuous dialogue at the political and military level rather than on creating a regional counterterrorism body,” said the expert, who spoke to FMT on condition of anonymity.
The analyst said cooperation starts with dialogue and the dissemination of clear intent by Asean states.
“This will be hard to achieve because each state has a domestic constituency with anti-government sentiments, as well as a section of the community which supports the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda-aligned groups,” he said.
“These groups may have different agendas, and most often they do, but are united in their anti-government sentiment.
“This domestic reality is different in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, etc, not to mention the cultural differences.”
The expert said unity of effort, not necessarily an official anti-terrorism organisation, was needed to counter the menace.
“Unity of effort is required to meet a regional challenge, and that is grounded in a unified intent, commitment and the capacity to confront the threat.
“Another bureaucracy will not in and of itself generate these requirements, and indeed, it may undermine our ability to confront those who wish to destabilise the region.”
Lack of a common strategy has been observed between the Philippines and its Asean neighbours in relation to the identification of foreign militant bodies found in the city of Marawi, recently retaken from IS-pledged groups.
Malaysian police have offered help by providing DNA samples to facilitate the identification of bodies believed to be of Malaysian terrorists found in the city.
They have also requested that the bodies, after they are positively identified by DNA tests, be repatriated to Malaysia.
The Philippine authorities, however, have not been reported as accepting Malaysia’s offer of help.
They instead rely on visual identification by security personnel and former hostages, and have yet to respond to the request for body repatriation.
The lack of a regional agreement on the use of airtight protocol for body identification poses a security risk, as militants believed to be killed may unexpectedly reappear to launch attacks elsewhere.
“The specific issue of DNA sampling is an example of strategic and operational requirements not aligning,” the expert said.
“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is reluctant to allow anyone to disrupt the ‘victory narrative’ he is using both domestically and regionally, therefore having Malaysian personnel second-guessing who was targeted is a distraction.
“Again, this is where a regional strategy will enhance the operational capacity of regional security forces as intel sharing, access to disputed territory/combat zones and developing joint-after-action reviews would all be formalised in a regional strategy.”
The Australian analyst said counterterrorism was complex and multi-layered, and every tactical success needed to be achieved under a comprehensive strategy.
“Otherwise, the threat will not be overcome. It will endure or simply relocate to another area of instability within the region and create a problem for another Asean member state.”
According to the expert, a regional counterterrorism body would represent a physical manifestation of the cooperation which has been developing over the past 25 years.
“Obviously, Australia has been a primary driver for greater cooperation, coordination and synchronicity across all the elements of counterterrorism, from intelligence through to joint/combined operations,” he said.
“However, Asean states have also identified the need for broader cooperation. The ability to allocate resources to the problem is key to progressing in counterterrorism efforts.
“While an Asean counterterrorism-oriented institution such as the IMCTC would demonstrate a united approach, if there is no ‘unity of effort’ in regards to strategy, such as identifying the threat as well as agreeing on how and when to act, then an Asean counterterrorism coalition is just another bureaucracy to draw funds away from the practitioners on the ground who are already doing their best with what they have.”
A regional cooperation was recently announced to counter terrorism financing.
Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan announced the establishment of the Southeast Asia Counter-Terrorism Financing Working Group at the Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) Summit organised by Bank Negara Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 22.
The new working group, made up of nations across Southeast Asia, is set to disrupt terrorist groups, their sources of funding, movement and use of funds, and their economic sustainment in the region, said Keenan, who is also minister assisting the Australian prime minister in counterterrorism.
Speaking to FMT, the expert said the working group had its limitations, and reiterated the need for a common regional strategy.
“The counterterrorism financing mechanism is a positive step, but it can’t track ‘hawala’ or offline transactions,” he said.
“There has been a lot of combined training operations and exchanges between Asean members states and Australian and US military and law enforcement, as has been since October 2001.
“However, without a common regional strategy, even the most highly trained force will be counter-productive.”
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