Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2013 The United States is open to expanding the\ninvolvement of Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, in future\neditions of the U.S.-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers\n(COPMIN).<\/p>\n
F. Cartwright Weiland, the US Assistant Secretary of State for the\nBureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL),\nsaid cross-border crime in the Pacific region was becoming increasingly\nworrying, and that Washington welcomed cooperation from all sides to\ntackle it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome continued engagement with partners throughout the Pacific\nand the Americas who share a commitment to disrupting transnational\ncriminal networks that threaten our collective security,\u201d Weiland said\nin response to an ANTARA question during an online media briefing\nfollowed from Jakarta on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The inaugural U.S.-Pacific Islands COPMIN was held in Los Angeles,\nCalifornia, on 21\u201322 October 2026, bringing together stakeholders from\nthe US, Pacific Island countries, Ecuador and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
The forum aims to strengthen law-enforcement cooperation against\ndrug-trafficking syndicates, online scams and other cybercrime, money\nlaundering, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.<\/p>\n
Weiland said the Philippines\u2019 participation this year gave attendees\nan opportunity to share knowledge on tackling illegal, unreported and\nunregulated fishing and strengthening maritime security.<\/p>\n
He said the Philippines, as an archipelagic country, had experiences\nand challenges similar to those of Indonesia and Pacific Island nations\nin monitoring and governing maritime areas and addressing illegal\nfishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are real challenges faced by the Philippines, by Indonesia,\nand by many other countries as well\u2026 The Philippines joining COPMIN this\nyear certainly creates a real opportunity for similar countries to\nbecome involved in the future,\u201d Weiland said.<\/p>\n
He added that the US was also working to increase cooperation with\nSouth Asian countries. Washington funds various training programmes for\nmaritime law-enforcement agencies in South Asia to help disrupt drug\nsupply chains across the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently working with almost all law-enforcement agencies in\nthe Pacific region, and the INL Bureau also has representatives in\nvarious parts of South Asia,\u201d Weiland said.<\/p>\n
However, Weiland could not confirm whether COPMIN would be held\nregularly or which countries might join the partnership in the\nfuture.<\/p>\n
He described the forum as an important initiative and said he hoped\nit would continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not know whether there are already plans to hold COPMIN 2.0,\nbut I think I speak for all of us when I say there is a strong desire\nfor this not to be the last conference, and for us to build on it\nfurther, perhaps as soon as next year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
At the 2026 U.S.-Pacific Islands COPMIN, the US State Department also\nlaunched a US$4 million (around Rp72.56 billion) partnership to combat\ntrans-Pacific and Western Hemisphere criminal syndicates, called the\nRegional Interdiction Partnership for Trafficking Intelligence,\nDisruption, and Enforcement (RIPTIDE).<\/p>\n
Working with INTERPOL, the programme will complement ongoing regional\ninformation-sharing efforts involving police agencies in its 196 member\ncountries, supporting evidence seizures, investigations, and the arrests\nof operational masterminds and financiers.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-open-to-expanding-copmin-cooperation-in-asean-including-indonesia-1793105747", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }