Six SE Asian states launch intel pact
Six Southeast Asian nations yesterday launched an intelligence pact aimed at combating Islamist militants and improving co-operation on security threats, overcoming what analysts described as a high level of distrust.
Under the "Our Eyes" initiative, senior defence officials will meet every two weeks to swap information on militant groups and develop a common database of violent extremists.
The intelligence sharing arrangement comes after insurgents aligned to Islamic State laid siege to the southern Philippine city of Marawi last year.
Dozens of foreigners - most notably Indonesians and Malaysians - were among hundreds of militants who seized large parts of Marawi and engaged in a ferocious battle with Philippine forces that left much of the city in ruins and more than 1,100 people dead, according to government figures.
Along with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei - all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - have signed up to the pact.
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