6 countries join hands to combat terrorism in Indonesia

Indonesia and Australia co-hosted on Saturday a counterterrorism meeting in Manado city in North Sulawesi province, where five points were agreed on.

The sub-regional cooperation meeting was also attended by ministers and security officials from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and New Zealand, in the hopes of countering the threat foreign fighters who return from Iraq and Syria pose to the region.

The ongoing siege in the city of Marawi in the Philippines has pushed the six countries to cooperate more closely, over fears the region could become a new base for Daesh.

Wiranto, Indonesia's coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, told reporters that the meeting had produced five agreements aimed at strengthening intergovernmental cooperation.

"There are approximately five things we agreed to in the meeting," said Wiranto, who uses a single name, according to metrotvnews.com.

They include cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the six countries, collaborating with several social media companies to combat terrorism, comparative studies of terrorism-related laws, strengthening of inter-state institutions, and increased cooperation of immigration authorities.

"Social media companies will help us identify existence of terrorists," he said.

Last month, the security crisis in Marawi City had driven Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines to conduct joint patrols to prevent the spread of the militants.

The meeting in Manado is a follow-up to a August 2016 meeting on counterterrorism also co-hosted by Indonesia and Australia in Bali.