VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to bolster counter-terrorism cooperation through intelligence sharing for handling terrorism at bilateral, regional, and international levels.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has driven countries to strengthen their borders, thereby reducing terrorists' attacks and operations in most parts of the world,” Head of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Commissioner General Boy Rafli Amar noted in a statement here on Friday.

Amar emphasized that despite the countries’ efforts to strengthen their borders as a precautionary measure to tackle terror attacks, it should not be misconstrued that the threats of terrorist groups are stopped.

To this end, Amar urged the public to stay vigilant in any situation, including amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic, the terrorist group makes propaganda, recruitment, and fund raising in cyberspace and sets the target of online audiences,” he stated.

Amar spoke of his intent to continually take some preventive measures against the group’s attacks through counter-radicalization narratives developed on websites and in books, magazines, and posters.

“The BNPT has also established the BNPT Channel TV and launched I-KHub in a bid to intensify cooperation and coordination among government, international partners, and OMS,” he remarked.

Moreover, the agency has launched Kawasan Terpadu Nusantara (integrated area of the archipelago) to support the de-radicalization programs, he added.

Concurrently, the BNPT’s international cooperation deputy, Andika Chrisnayudhanto, stated that Indonesia continues to intensify counter-terrorism cooperation with other countries.

“We share with one another intelligence information on terrorism handling and the country’s involvement in slashing the global terrorism network at bilateral, regional, and international levels,” he affirmed.

The cooperation between Indonesia and the Philippines covers threat assessment on global, regional, and domestic scales; border control; and terrorism prevention and combat in cyberspace.  (Antaranews)