ASEAN finalizing intelligence-sharing initiative

JAKARTA: Defense officials from six Southeast Asian nations are finalizing the Our Eyes intelligence-sharing initiative, which will be formally introduced at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Singapore early next month.
Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand had a “soft launch” of the initiative in Bali on Jan. 25, Maj. Gen. Hartind Asrin, director general for defense strategy at Indonesia’s Defense Ministry, told Arab News.
But senior defense officials will have to meet again before the ADMM on Feb. 6, where defense ministers from the six member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will formally sign the initiative, which aims to improve security cooperation, he added.
“We’ll need to meet at least one more time to finalize streamlining our perspectives before the retreat,” Hartind said.
The other four ASEAN member states — Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam — will participate as observers in the pact, but are expected to formally join later, along with Australia, Japan and the US as possible future members, he added.
Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu proposed the initiative in October 2017 during the ADMM in the Philippines, as an expansion of the security cooperation established in 2016 between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. That has resulted in joint air and maritime patrols.
“After conducting the patrols, we realized that we need to have intelligence-sharing so we can better monitor the movement of terrorists and militants,” Hartind said.
After signing the agreement, each defense minister will form a task force comprising senior defense officials who gather information from security stakeholders in their respective countries.
The officials will meet every fortnight to exchange information on militants’ cross-border movements.
Our Eyes was inspired by the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing pact between the US and its allies.
The soft launch of Our Eyes could be “the initial barometer for cooperation between the six Southeast Asian nations most impacted by terrorism and radicalism,” said Ryacudu.
“Each country has its own way of dealing with threats, therefore it requires synergy and coordination to obtain strategic information.”
Earlier in the week, after meeting his American counterpart James Mattis in Jakarta, Ryacudu said the US had pledged to assist the six nations in gathering intelligence.
“The US will help us with sophisticated tools,” Ryacudu said at a joint press conference with Mattis.
The latter said the threat by Daesh-affiliated fighters in southern Mindanao in the Philippines is proof that no country can resolve security challenges alone.
“America is deeply committed to the Indo-Pacific region and building on a long history of close cooperation on economic, diplomatic and security issues,” Mattis said.