29 March 2004 – The Philippines is hosting the 2nd  ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-sessional Meeting (ISM) on  Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, starting  tomorrow, 30 March 2004 at the Dusit Hotel in Makati.

Co-chaired by the Philippines and Russia, the theme of  the 2nd ISM is transport security and how it relates  to counter-terrorism. There are 23 members of the  ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which consist of the 10  ASEAN countries, Japan, Republic of Korea, China,  India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New  Guinea, the European Union, Canada, the United States,  Mongolia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of  Korea.

The Meeting will take stock of transport security  measures being implemented among the participating  countries. It also aims to identify and share best  practices, as well as look into technical,  legislative, and legal adjustments to enhance  coordination between and among the countries in the  region.

“The timeliness of this meeting could not have been more fortuitous in light of recent world events,  highlighted by the train bombing in Madrid,” Acting  Foreign Affairs Secretary Rafael Seguis said of this  year’s ISM. “This will allow the peace-loving  countries of ASEAN and it’s neighbors comprising the  ARF to look into establishing measures that will  prevent terrorist attacks on our transport systems.”

The ARF ISM on Counter Terrorism and Transnational  Crime was established by the ARF Ministers in July  2002. The objective of the ISM is to propose specific common policies to counter-terrorism and related  transnational crimes for national and cooperative  implementation by the ARF participants.

The 1st ISM on CT-TC, which tackled border and travel  document security, was held in March 2003. It was  co-chaired by Malaysia and the United States and was  participated in by immigration and law enforcement  officials. - END