Commissioner of Police at Aseanapol meeting

Delegation from the Royal Brunei Police Force at the conference

Asean police chiefs pose for a group photo

Brunei Press

http://www.brunei-online.com

By Azlan Othman

The establishment of a shared database of websites related to terrorism, the establishment of a Permanent Aseanapol Secretariat, electronic-Aseanapol Database System (e-ADS), mutual assistance in criminal matters and exchange of personnel were among the matters raised at the 29th Asean Chiefs of Police (Aseanapol) Conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam from May 12-16, 2009.

The theme of the conference was "To Build up ASEAN Police Forces for ASEAN Stability and Development".

Around 300 delegates representing the police forces of the 10 Asean member countries, five dialogue countries - China, Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - Interpol, Asean and different government agencies of Vietnam, including Ministries of Public Security, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Office of the President, Office of the Government, Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuracy, attended the event.

Royal Brunei Police Force's delegation to the conference was headed by Pehin Datu Kerma Setia CP Dato Paduka Seri Zainuddin bin Jalani, Commissioner of Police.

The opening ceremony was held at the international convention centre on May 13. General Le Hong Anh, member of the Politburo and Minister of Public Security addressed the conference on behalf of the government of Vietnam. Police Lt General Pham Quy Ngo, Director General of General Department of Vietnam Police, Ministry of Public Security was appointed Chairman; and Lt General Sok Phal, Deputy Commissioner General of Cambodian National Police, was appointed Vice Chairman of the 29th Aseanapol Conference.

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet also received in audience all the Asean police chiefs at the presidential palace. Accompanying the Asean police chiefs were Police Lt General Pham Quy Ngo, Director General of Genaral Department of Vietnam Police.

Also present during the audience were Aseanapol dialogue partners from Australia, China, Korea, Japan and New Zealand, as well as a representative from the Asean secretariat, as a special invited guest for the Aseanapol meeting.

The conference was held in an open and constructive atmosphere with two plenary sessions, three Commission Discussions, and two Working Group Discussions. Commission A dealt with illicit drugs trafficking, terrorism, arms smuggling, human trafficking and maritime fraud. Commission B focused on commercial crimes, bank offences, credit card fraud, cyber crime, fraudulent travel documents, and transnational fraud. Commission C discussed the establishment of a Permanent Aseanapol Secretariat, electronic-Aseanapol Database System (e-ADS), mutual assistance in criminal matters, exchange of personnel, and drafting of Joint Communiqué.

The first working group discussed the establishment of Aseanapol Secretariat and Vietnam's initiative to promote training cooperation between police academies and police training centres of Asean countries and feasibility of establishing a database of criminal records to be discussed at ADSTC meeting in Vietnam.

The second working group focused on police cooperation between Asean member countries and dialogue partners. The National Police Agency of Japan proposed to establish a shared database of websites related to terrorism with Asean Police forces and the proposal by Australian Federal Police for a workshop on Command, Control an Coordination (C3) Project as part of the Joint Asean Senior Police Officers Course (JASPOC) to be held in Vietnam with the partnership of General Department of Vietnam Police.

At the plenary sessions on May 13 and 15, delegates deliberated and adopted the Commission and Working Group Discussion reports; adopted and signed the Joint Communiqué of the 29th Aseanapol Conference. Asean Chiefs of Police collectively and significantly agreed on the following: the implementation of proposals on strengthening cooperation with dialogue partners in combating crime; signed the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of Aseanapol Secretariat and adopted the key appointments of Aseanapol Secretariat which is expected to start its operation on January 1, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 29th Aseanapol Conference also agreed that the 30th Aseanapol Conference next year will be held in Cambodia hosted by Cambodian National Police.