The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Indonesian military have sealed the terms of reference (TOR) for a joint working group that would aid in addressing trans-border issues.
AFP Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa finalized the TOR for the Philippine-Indonesia working group with his Indonesian counterpart, Admiral Agus Suhartono, during a bilateral meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
The two military leaders sat down for a meeting at the close of the 2nd Jakarta International Defense Dialogue 2012 held at the Balai Sidang, Jakarta, Convention Center.
Dellosa was a resource speaker and panelist at the forum attended by some 50 defense officials and military chiefs mostly from the Asia Pacific as well as other international security officials.
Trans-border crimes
The Philippine-Indonesia working group will “facilitate interoperability in addressing trans-border issues, including terrorism and other criminal activities,” the AFP said in a statement.
The terms of reference will “further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries’ security forces on matters of border security, intelligence, training, education and other mutually agreed initiatives and activities.”
The signing of the TOR is expected to take place in Mindanao next month, according to the AFP.
The Philippines and Indonesia both face threats from Islamic extremists, with the Indonesia-based international terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extending its network through the local Abu Sayyaf terror group.
The two regional allies are also confronted with trans-border crimes such as smuggling, human and drug trafficking, and poaching.
“Even as we each confront domestic security challenges, the interests of our nations are interrelated and we are all stakeholders of collective security in the international community,” Dellosa said in a statement.
He thanked the Indonesian government for sending resource persons to this year’s Balikatan war exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore will each send two experts for the command post simulation exercise on disaster response to a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hitting Metro Manila, similar to the one that hit Japan in March last year. The simulation will not involve troops.