16th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime continues

The 16th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (16th AMMTC) was held via videoconference on 21 September.
Minister-level AMMTC leaders and high-ranking officials from China, Japan, and South Korea and ASEAN Deputy Secretary General and representatives attended its related meetings at 7 am yesterday.
The 9th AMMTC + China consultation was held in the morning and Deputy Minister for Home Affairs/Chief of Myanmar Police Force Maj-Gen Zin Min Htet and Public Security Minister of People’s Republic of China Mr Wang Xiao Hong acted as co-chairs.
In the meeting, the latest developments regarding the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between ASEAN and China (2019-2023) were exchanged and a joint statement was approved.
Deputy Minister Chief of Myanmar Police Force Maj-Gen Zin Min Htet said that the non-conventional security role will be able to solve the challenges. Both sides will identify ways to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, he said.
In the implementation of the identified methods, the existing cooperation mechanisms must be carried out under the domestic laws and procedures of each country, he added.
He suggested the two countries pay attention to fighting against the criminal gangs hiding on the border between the two countries.
After that, a consultation with the 12th AMMTC + 3 (China, Japan, Korea) was held and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Samdech Kralahorm Sar Kheng acted as chairman and Minister-level representatives from 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan, and South Korea attended the meeting.
In the meeting, representative of Myanmar Deputy Minister MPF Chief Maj-Gen Zin Min Htet said that the global terrorist threat has changed significantly in the past years.
Terrorists are using new technologies, including information and communication technologies (ICT), he said.
In addition, they have been carrying out terrorist attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones. In the future, terrorists will use drones to carry out more explosives.
He said that it is possible that terrorists make an attempt to commit a major modern-day 9/11 attack like the attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.
Arms smuggling crimes are linked to terrorist groups and pose a threat to the safety and security of communities, he added.
He said that he would like to analyze drones seized during terrorist attacks under the framework of the ASEAN + 3 cooperation work plan and develop capacity-building programmes for identifying digital evidence.
Similarly, the 7th AMMTC + Japan consultation was held at 11 am and the 3rd AMMTC + ROK consultation was also held at 2:30 pm.
Officials focused on illegal drug trade, human trafficking, money laundering, international economic crime, prisoners, immigration, and capacity building for law enforcement agencies concerning investigations and high-tech crimes.
They discussed that enhancing cooperation through the exchange of good procedures and technical expertise will be effectively implemented through the framework of the current collaborative work plan 2019-2023.
After that, the AMMTC chairmanship was handed over to Indonesia, which will host the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Combatting Transnational Crime in 2023. —MNA