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Australia seeks cooperation in fight against terrorism

FORUM Staff

Australia’s allies describe it as a key partner in the global fight against terrorism. Now, in the wake of two recent terrorist attacks in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, Australia is seeking to initiate more regional and global cooperation to counter the threat of violent extremism. That includes fighting extremism online as well.

The recent attacks have raised concerns that terrorism is on the rise in the region. On January 14, 2016, in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, gunmen and suicide bombers killed eight people, including four civilians. Earlier, in August 2015, a bomb killed 20 people and injured 125 at a popular shrine in Bangkok.

These attacks “have injected new urgency” for regional counterterrorism efforts, Reuters reported in January 2016.

For example, Australia and Thailand are working on a new anti-terrorism pact to address concerns about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) becoming more active in the region, The Diplomat magazine reported in January 2016.

During a January 2016 visit to Bangkok, Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said his country was prepared to work with its neighbors: “If we can make those relationships stronger then we should seek to do so, because this menace is going to be with us for some time, and the more we can do to collaborate, to address it, the safer our people will be,” he said, according to The Diplomat.

On another front, Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull aims to ramp up the fight against ISIL in cyberspace. During his first visit as prime minister to Washington, D.C., in January 2016, he pledged to work more closely with U.S. intelligence officials to curb ISIL’s online communications and recruitment efforts, according to Reuters and The Associated Press (AP).

“We have to constantly lift our game in the way we engage with and tackle these extremists, particularly ISIL — but there are many others — as they operate in the cyber sphere,” Turnbull said, according to Reuters. “Archaic and barbaric though they may be, their use regrettably of the Internet is very sophisticated. And so I’m pleased that we’re going to be working on even closer collaboration there.”

During the prime minister’s visit, U.S. President Barack Obama praised Australia’s contributions to the fight against ISIL. Australia has six jet fighters flying missions against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria, the AP reported. It has Soldiers in noncombat roles stationed in Baghdad.

According to the AP, Obama noted that Australia has the second-largest force of ground troops in Iraq behind the United States.

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