TRANSCRIPT - JOINT MEDIA CONFERENCE - INDONESIA - THURSDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2026
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
JOINT MEDIA CONFERENCE – HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER TONY BURKE AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR POLITICAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS FOR INDONESIA DUDUNG ABDURACHMAN
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
23 OCTOBER 2026
DUDUNG ABDURACHMAN: Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Today, Indonesia and Australia co-chaired the 7th Subregional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Security. The meeting was attended by delegations from six countries: Brunei, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. This forum serves as a vital platform for strengthening regional cooperation to address the threats of terrorism, transnational crime, and various other security challenges of mutual concern.
Today’s meeting follows the 6th meeting held in Sydney, Australia, which resulted in a joint statement on terrorism and cross-border security. In this session, we discussed a range of strategic issues—including domestic and regional security, irregular migration, maritime security, terrorism, transnational crime, and cybersecurity—as well as the report from the Senior Official Counter-Terrorism Policy Forum. These discussions reaffirmed that contemporary security threats are increasingly complex and transcend national borders.
Consequently, no single nation can face these challenges alone. Close communication, information sharing, and tangible, sustained cooperation are essential. Having heard the perspectives and policies of each participating nation, we have produced a joint statement that serves as a shared foundation.
This foundation will guide our efforts to further strengthen cooperation, a topic that will be addressed at the 8th meeting, scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia, in 2027. It is our hope that this agreement will not merely remain a document but will instead be followed by concrete actions that deliver real benefits for the security and stability of the region. I would also like to express my appreciation to all the delegations for their openness, spirit of friendship, and commitment to deepening our collaboration.
As previously mentioned, the 8th meeting will be held in Australia. We trust that the momentum for cooperation established today will be maintained and further enhanced moving forward. In the end, regional security is a shared responsibility, with strong communication trust and cooperation, we will be better prepared to face threats and keep the region safe, peaceful and stable.
Thank You.
TONY BURKE: Thank you, Pak. Today’s meeting was another gathering of solidarity and a gathering that organised crime would wish to not happen. A gathering that hostile actors would wish to not happen. We are looking at a time ahead of us where those who would want to do us harm have access to more capability through new technology than has been ever in the past. But our solidarity is stronger than it has ever been as well.
And so on every issue, the nature of these meetings is we don't wait for the meeting to start working together. As each of the partners around the table needs each other, we work together, we cooperate, we share, and we create a level of solidarity and enforcement that organised crime and hostile actors would wish never existed. There were two particular areas that I would refer to that really stood out for me today.
The first was the unified position and level of outrage about the evil of scam centres. These factories that produce misery and exploitation. And the full cooperation of all of us around the table is there to do everything we can to try to bring those scam centres to their knees.
The other area which really, I think, surprised me today, because sometimes each of you are looking at the information that comes to you in your own country and not necessarily realising how consistent the story is around the region. The forms of terrorism that we have traditionally dealt with, including groups like Daesh or ISIS, remain the threat that they have been. But there is a fast-growing cohort that is different.
They are getting younger. They are radicalised online. They are radicalised fast.
And they have mixed ideology. Some of these mixed ideologies are logically incoherent. Somebody might hold the sort of ideology I referred to a moment ago and also be interested in white supremacism, things that logically would never make sense at all on their own but certainly don't make sense to exist in the same mind where the only thing they have in common is violence.
There is a real willingness for us to work together on this cohort, this growing challenge that we have. It is principally but not exclusively young males on gaming platforms where there is nothing wrong with the gaming platforms themselves but it is the chat rooms that happen adjacent to those gaming platforms where some of the radicalisation is occurring. And we committed again to work together with all of our capability to try to deal with this new and escalating challenge.
For every challenge that we looked at, it is all about to be supercharged by artificial intelligence. But for every challenge we looked at, the single-mindedness and solidarity was the same. I want to thank my friend the Coordinating Minister and thank Indonesia and the Indonesian government for the leadership that was shown today, the leadership that is shown in the cooperation that happens every day between our meetings.
And Australia is a very proud partner and very proud to co-chair with our Indonesian friends.
JOURNALIST: (Translation) You mentioned concrete steps that will continue in a sustainable manner through 2027. In light of these steps, how does the discussion address threats such as online scams—especially given that thousands of Indonesian citizens are currently trapped in these networks, most notably in Myanmar? Furthermore, could you perhaps share a few details regarding the specific areas of cooperation—particularly with Australia—that are planned for 2027? Thank you.
DUDUNG ABDURACHMAN: The meeting addressed various transnational threats—not merely trade-related issues, but transnational crimes—as well as maritime and cybersecurity. A key priority for concrete cooperation, which will directly benefit the public, involves the sharing of intelligence regarding the types of threats I mentioned. This is particularly relevant to the transnational crimes currently occurring in places like Myanmar and Cambodia, where online scams are rampant.
These online scams—which encompass various forms of fraud and human trafficking—are a major concern for the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs. Identifying victims is often extremely difficult, so we are looking at ways to improve cross-border investigative processes. We are also focused on the protection of our respective citizens. Through this meeting, we have reached an agreement that, should such cases arise, we will maintain effective, persuasive communication to ensure that solutions can be found. It was also discussed that each of our countries will take concrete steps to address the evolution of criminal activity—including drug-related offenses and other types of crimes—which, as mentioned, now even affect young people. We will be closely monitoring this, as influences such as terrorism are reaching the youth through increasingly advanced technology. I believe that covers it.
JOURNALIST: (Translation) Indonesia and Australia have maintained a very close relationship in the realm of counter-terrorism, particularly since the Bali bombings. From Australia’s perspective—and given that this marks the seventh Sub-Regional Meeting involving Australia and Southeast Asian nations—how does Australia view the current counter-terrorism mechanisms, both within Indonesia and across the broader Southeast Asian region? In Indonesia, for instance, there have been recent concerning developments—such as the emergence of Neo-Nazi-affiliated activities and incidents involving the stockpiling of weapons in schools. In Australia’s view, what areas need to be strengthened regarding counter-terrorism efforts in Indonesia and Southeast Asia to ensure that transnational security threats can be more effectively managed and contained moving forward? Thank you.
TONY BURKE: When I talk to the Indonesian government, I come to learn—and I have to say, a lot of the de-radicalisation programmes that are run in Indonesia are absolutely world-leading. All countries around the world have challenges now of people who had previously been imprisoned starting to come out of jail, or people who had gone to join horrific causes overseas, wanting to find their way back to the country of their passport.
And so when I consider all of that, I come to learn, and I engage with the Indonesian government as a trusted partner that has conducted some deeply effective de-radicalisation work. In terms of some of the new ideologies that are turning to violence, we are in new territory. Neo-Nazism is not new, but the emboldenment of it has not been around for a very long time.
And the mixture of incoherent ideologies with each other is new. So we will need to keep developing de-radicalisation programmes because we need to remember we are dealing with a cohort that I described that is very young, and the best thing you can do when someone is that young, and we have people on our caseload that we look at who are as young as 10. Incarceration can't be the first step that we deal with there.
We need to be able to get young people away from a radicalised path and back onto a constructive path. Whether it's the same methods we've used in other forms of radicalisation, I don't know. But I certainly know that Indonesia has a good story to tell the world in a whole lot of the work that's been done here on de-radicalisation.
DUDUNG ABDURACHMAN: Right, there is one more question from Kompas that I haven’t addressed yet. The topic is somewhat similar, as the situation evolves from year to year. In our country, we have a deradicalization program run by the BNPT (National Counter-Terrorism Agency). This program provides guidance and understanding to those who have been exposed to—or influenced by—terrorism, including individuals currently in prison. The countries participating in this meeting are interested in adopting the approach we have implemented. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: (Translation) I’m Liya from Liputan 6. My question is: will Indonesia and Australia exert specific pressure on countries that serve as hubs for online scams—given that, as mentioned earlier, the victims are primarily within this region? Also, a simpler follow-up: is terrorism still a genuine threat in this region?
DUDUNG ABDURACHMAN: Thank you. We are currently engaging through appeals, providing information, and fostering understanding with the countries where these online scams originate. At this stage, neither Australia nor Indonesia is applying formal pressure; rather, we are conveying appeals and sharing information with the nations currently involved in these online scams. Thank you.
TONY BURKE: On scam centres, a meeting like this, we don't wait for the meeting before we act together. But a meeting like this creates a new level of resolve and a commitment and clear direction from the ministers around the table about the expectations that we have on our agencies. And so, there is no doubt after a meeting like this that the focus and the spotlight is well and truly on scam centres. In terms of is there risk of terrorism in the region? The answer is yes. I would love to give you a different answer. But the answer is yes. And that is part of the reason why this meeting is so important.