Regional forum adopts measures to choke off terrorist financing
Regional forum adopts measures to choke off terrorist financing
Chris Foley, Agence France-Presse, Bandar Seri Begawan
The Asia-Pacific's foremost security umbrella group, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), on Wednesday outlined a blueprint designed to choke off funding for terrorists.
A raft of measures, including banking controls and a freeze on assets, was approved by delegates at a working dinner on Tuesday, on the eve of the ARF annual meeting.
The 23-member foreign minister-level grouping includes the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the European Union, as well as the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states.
"In the interests of global peace and security, the participants in the ARF are determined to stop the financing of terrorism," the statement said.
"We have therefore today endorsed a statement of our intention to work individually and in concert to prevent terrorists and their associates from accessing or using our financial systems and to stop abuse of informal banking networks."
The ARF statement is one of several counter-terrorism initiatives being released during a week of ministerial meetings in Brunei.
On Tuesday, ASEAN foreign ministers issued a declaration announcing a determination to "enhance counter-terrorism cooperation", and on Thursday they will sign a cooperation pact with the United States.
China has also announced plans for regular East Asia ministerial meetings to discuss terrorism and transnational crime.
"Terrorism has been very much the focus of the meeting. There's been quite a lot of work going on behind the scenes in the ARF in addressing the question," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
A spokesman for Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said there was an underlying feeling that more should be done in the fight against terror.
"All delegates were one in expressing condemnation of terrorist acts," the spokesman, R.M. Marty, said.
"They were all satisfied in what we have done in the past years but they wish to do more."
The ARF statement on Wednesday commits its 23 members to "freeze without delay the assets of terrorists and their associates and close their access to the international financial system".
Each member of ARF "should establish promptly" a financial intelligence unit to beef up information sharing.
It will also require members to "make public the lists of terrorists whose assets are subject to freezing and the amount of assets frozen", and urges anti-money-laundering bodies to promptly expand their mandates to include terrorist financing.
"We will ensure that our financial institutions and citizens comply with measures to combat the financing of terrorism and other financial crimes, and will assist them to do so."
To ensure the message gets through, the ARF says it is committed to assisting countries "that need help in implementing necessary laws, regulations and policies to combat terrorist financing and money laundering".
Downer said the ARF was encouraging its members to adhere to various UN conventions covering the financing of terrorism and developed nations would "provide some technical assistance if there is a request".
European Union foreign policy envoy Javier Solana described the statement as a good step addressing money "flowing to terrorist organizations and the question of money-laundering in relation to terrorism".
ARF includes the 10 ASEAN states, along with Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Korea, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.