By Prashanth Parameswaran
Tokyo’s assistance sought in countering grave threats.
On October 1, ASEAN and Japan convened the second ASEAN Plus Japan ministerial meeting on transnational crime (AMMTC + Japan) in Kuala Lumpur. Two issues that were of particular concern were terrorism and cyber crime.
Though ASEAN and Japan have held annual senior official meetings on transnational crime since 2003, Japan proposed that it be upgraded to a ministerial level in 2013 in line with the 40th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan relations. The first ministerial meeting was held in Vientiane in 2013.
According to the joint statement issued following this meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the two sides focused on countering terrorism and cyber crime. The focus on these issues is not surprising considering the rise of the Islamic State threat, which has spooked some ASEAN states, as well as cyber attacks that have exposed the vulnerability of the subregion in recent years. On the former, the statement reaffirmed the importance of strengthening counterterrorism capacity and cooperation as well as the sharing of experience, knowledge and information including through the ASEAN-Japan Counter Terrorism Dialogue.
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