Cameron (left) acts as the moderator for the Second Asean-European Union High Level Dialogue on Maritime Security Cooperation in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Transnational security threats are the most pressing challenges faced by Asean countries now, said Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) chairman, Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor.
He said they were not in the form of traditional state-to-state conflicts, but the non-traditional maritime threats such as cross-border smuggling, illegal exploitation of marine resources, armed robbery, and piracy.
Therefore, he stressed that Asean countries must be better organised to curb these threats.
“Although traditional security threats seem to have receded, other non-military threats have become more lethal and widespread. Among the approaches which we seek to acknowledge and address are paradigms that include cooperative, comprehensive and collective measures aimed at ensuring security for individuals and countries in Asean.
“These new threats demand us to think outside the box when discussing approaches and solutions on transnational organised crime,” he said in his speech at the Second Asean-European Union High Level Dialogue on Maritime Security Cooperation jointly organised by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry, the European External Action Service and supported by the Regional European Union (EU)-Asean Dialogue Instrument here, yesterday.
Also present was EU-Asia Centre director, Fraser Cameron.
The EU-Asia Centre is an independent, non-profit think-tank on the EU’s relations with Asia.
Ahmad Ramli said the public, communities and media and all the relevant support systems were crucial to law enforcement agencies in carrying out their daily tasks.
“The ability of criminal syndicates to persist and evolve requires us to be more organised than the criminals. In this regard, growing numbers of national inter-agency organisations in the region is a testimony that Asean members have accepted the fact that no single agency can work alone on this issue.
“Asean countries should now seize the opportunity to enhance our efforts through collaborative partnership between regions, namely the European Union,” he said.
Asean security establishments and extra-regional partners which have a stake in the continued prosperity of the region must engage in various ways to increase mutual understanding, confidence and cooperate among Asean countries to deal with the transnational threats to regional security, Ahmad Ramli said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, he said the public forum aimed to listen to the views and experiences of the EU countries in tackling maritime security problems.
“Member countries of Asean and the EU frequently contact each other and various aid were given by the EU including economic contribution in terms of investment and advisory services,” he said. — Bernama