1 April 2004 –  Foreign  Affairs  Secretary  Delia-Domingo Albert today  commended the co-chairs and the participants of the 2nd ASEAN  Regional  Forum  Inter-sessional Meeting (ISM) on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime focusing  on Transport Security, saying that the meeting not only came out with very useful recommendations  but that the meeting also symbolized the determination and commitment of the ARF countries to work together to fight terrorism. The meeting concluded yesterday after two days of discussions at the Dusit Hotel in Makati.

“The  meeting  focused on  transport  security,  as  transport  systems are  favored  targets of  terrorists.  The recommendations on  information  partnerships will  greatly  enhance our  collective capability to fight terror.  Knowledge and information are key tools in winning the war against terrorism,” Secretary Albert said, adding that details on the recommendations can only be made after they are presented to the ARF Ministerial Meeting.

“The  Philippines  has not  only been  an active  participant in  the  war  against terror,  but  has also been at the forefront of regional cooperation on transport security,” the Secretary said.  As Undersecretary for International Economic Relations and Philippine Senior Official to APEC, Secretary Albert organized and hosted the APEC High Level Meeting on Maritime Security  Cooperation in Manila on 8-9 September 2003.

“I am looking forward to the coming ARF Ministerial meeting during which the Manila recommendations will be taken up,” the Secretary said.

The  ARF ISM  was  attended by  representatives of  22 ARF  member  countries  namely  Australia,  Brunei Darussalam,  Cambodia,  Canada,  People’s  Republic of  China,  European  Union,  India,  Indonesia, Japan, Republic of  Korea,  Laos,  Malaysia,  Mongolia,  Myanmar,  New Zealand,  Papua New Guinea,  Singapore, Thailand, United States of America, and Vietnam. The meeting was co-chaired by the Philippines and Russia, headed by Assistant Secretary Alicia C. Ramos of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, and Deputy Director Vladimir V. Andreyev of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, the International Law Enforcement Academy, and the Southeast Asia Regional Center on Counter-terrorism also participated in the meeting.

During  the  first day of the  meeting,  presentations on  various  aspects of  Transport  security  were given by several  of  the  participating  countries. The  presentations  include  updates on  terrorist  organizations and activities,  counter-terrorism  measures, security updates and initiatives pertaining to air, sea, and land-based transport as well as inter-modal forms of transportation. Each presenting country related their experiences, initiatives and goals in achieving transport security.

The  participants  were  also  divided  into  several  workgroups,  which  were  tasked  to  come  up  with recommendations  on  policy,  intelligence  and  information  exchange,  and  counter-measures.  These recommendations were presented to the plenary the following day.

The minutes of the meeting, including the country presentations and the recommendations of the working groups, were all incorporated into a draft ARF Statement on Transport Security that will be sent to the next ARF Ministerial  Conference for consideration and approval.

Both co-chairs commented that they have received positive feedbacks from the participants regarding the two-day meeting. They said that though the time was short, many countries were able to share and glean useful information from each other. END.