US, Asia-Pacific SF officers hold unprecedented talks

[2RHPZ]

Special forces officers from 14 Asia-Pacific nations and the United States are set to hold an unprecedented meeting in Australia to coordinate their battle against terrorism.
Australia's Defence Minister, Robert Hill, will open the inaugural Australian Regional Special Forces and Counter-Terrorism Conference in the state of New South Wales.
The conference will provide an opportunity for senior counter-terrorism officials to establish links and share information regarding national counter-terrorism response mechanisms.
The three-day meeting will involve special forces and counter-terrorism officials from other countries including Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

[n4292936]

Lets change that topic title to Australia hosts Asia_Pacific SF roundtable discussions. ahem, credit where its due ;)
Seriously though. This is one of the most important regions in the world where international cooperation should be fostered. Its presently nearly nonexistent, and bolstering Defence, law enforcement and intel ties between the SEA countries is crucial to the long term countering of the unconventional threats that dominate the regions security agenda. Its the lack of these ties that help drug trafficking flourish in the Burma-Thai-Laos triangle, terrorism in Indon-Malay-Philip-Singapore area, and the smuggling of people and goods in the region. ASEAN has been utterly unhelpful in engendering these ties, and the ARF has done so in word only. The only substantial cooperation that has come out of the region has been through bi and tri-lateral efforts. I hope this conference produces some tangible results!

[2RHPZ]

Brunei Joins Regional Special Forces Meet In Australia

By Mava Salleh

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam joined the ranks of the United States and 14 other Asia-Pacific nations in their bid to fight against terrorism at a three-day conference held in Australia recently.
The conference, which commenced last Wednesday and ended yesterday, was reportedly held behind tight security in the rural town of Bowrai, South of Sydney.
Australian Defence Minister Mr Robert Hill addressed the inaugural Regional Special Forces Counter-Terrorism Conference.
Senior Special Forces and Counter-Terrorism Experts from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Brunei, Thailand and the United States attended the conference.
Mr Robert Hill stressed on the importance of the conference as an opportunity for senior officials from throughout the region to establish links and share information about national counter-terrorism response mechanisms and the capabilities of Special Forces counter-terrorism units.
He was quoted to have said, "The Australian Government believes that working together is the only way we can disrupt terrorist networks and deny the opportunity to plan and conduct attacks."
He further added, "Today's terrorism is a product of Islamic extremism that targets Muslims and non-Muslims alike”.
The extremists are engaged in a jihad against all who do not commit to their particular interpretation of Islam. While these extremists exist outside the mainstream of their religion, they have a presence in each of our countries.
As unpalatable as it may be, we have to acknowledge that our region is a breeding ground for this extremism.
"No one country can combat terrorism on its own. If we want to fight a trans-state threat, our cooperation must extend across borders."
In concluding the conference yesterday, delegates paid a visit to a Special Forces Counter-Terrorism Unit based in Sydney. --

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

[Flagg]

Agenda Item #1

Keep Asia's busiest shipping lane(Strait of Malacca) clear of naughty activity

[Mark Sman]

Item #2: Exchange numbers addresses and passwords of the best clip joints in SE Asia.