Indonesia's immigration offices in Batam and Depok last year rejected close to 1,400 passport applications, mostly for suspected intentions of travel to become foreign terrorist fighters. In line with UN Security Council Resolutions, Universal Legal Instruments Against Terrorism, and International Human Rights Law, it is essential that Asean countries update their terrorism-related legislation. While Asean countries have improved on their collaboration and intelligence sharing, it still occurs in an ad hoc and inconsistent fashion. It is important that Asean develops a regional prevention of violent extremism plan which is subsequently tailored for each country. However, if all Asean nations implement a common approach, including what we are recommending, risks posed by terrorists in the region would be significantly reduced.

Source: Bangkok Post February 10, 2017 23:29 UTC