Indonesia to moot new ASEAN intelligence sharing to track militants

“Our Eyes” initiative comes close on the IS menace that has also affected Malaysia and Philippines

Indonesian militant Muhammad Nur Solikin looks on after he was sentenced to 11 years jail in a Jakarta court on September 20, 2017, for orchestrating a plot inspired by the Islamic State group to stage a suicide bomb attack on the presidential palace. Solikin and his wife Dian Yuli Novi were among five jihadists detained over plans to attack the palace during a presidential guard-changing ceremony with a three-kg bomb encased in a pressure cooker.

Indonesia will propose a broad intelligence-sharing initiative among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to deal with the rising threat of radical Islamist militants, its Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacuda said on Thursday.

Unrest in the southern Philippines has unsettled neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, as the three countries grapple with the possible rise of the Islamic State aided by local militants who have declared allegiance with the group.

“Our Eyes” initiative

Mr. Ryacuda said he would propose an “Our Eyes” initiative at the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in the Philippines this month.

“Be it maritime, air or intelligence... we will fine-tune this when we have deliberations and discussions at the ADMM,” he told a news conference at the launch of air patrols among Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The patrols are part of a multi-pronged initiative involving the three countries — which also includes maritime patrols and intelligence sharing — aimed at plugging porous borders around the Sulu Sea where militant groups aligned with the IS are active.