Indonesia, Australia deepen border security cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Australia agreed to strengthen regional border security cooperation through closer intelligence sharing, immigration coordination and cybersecurity initiatives during an ASEAN-Australia consultation in Cambodia, Indonesia's immigration chief said.

The 21st DGICM + Australia Consultation was co-chaired by Indonesian Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko and Australia's First Assistant Secretary for Immigration Damien Kilner in Siem Reap.

According to a press statement received in Jakarta on Friday, Hendarsam stressed the importance of stronger cooperation between ASEAN members and Australia to maintain regional stability.

"We hope this forum will shape a stronger ASEAN-Australia partnership by building mutual trust and greater information sharing to address evolving border challenges," Hendarsam said.

He said ASEAN and Australia are developing more robust operational standards for frontline immigration and border management.

Upgrading border facilities was also a key focus of the meeting, he said.

Indonesian and Brunei citizens already have access to Australia's SmartGate automated border clearance system, Hendarsam said.

Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines highlighted increasingly complex security threats, including irregular migration, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and the growing prevalence of online scams requiring coordinated regional responses.

To address digital threats, Singapore and Australia proposed a new cooperation framework centered on data sharing and artificial intelligence technologies.

The initiative aims to modernize immigration services and strengthen screening capabilities at border checkpoints, Hendarsam said.

The meeting also agreed to continue the ASEAN-Australia Programme of Work for 2026-2027 through regional capacity-building initiatives.

Hendarsam said the program reflects the region's evolving transnational crime challenges.

"ASEAN-Australia cooperation is essential to strengthen regional capacity against changing migration patterns, labor mobility, transnational crime, migrant smuggling, human trafficking and abuse of immigration channels," he said.

Indonesia will host a Cyber Resilience Programme in August 2026 using a train-the-trainer approach to improve frontline officers' preparedness against cybercrime linked to transnational criminal networks.

Other strategic programs will continue, including the Border Control Agency Management Programme in Vietnam, the Investigative Interviewing Programme in the Philippines, and document examination and facial comparison training in Malaysia.

Indonesia also confirmed its readiness to host the 22nd DGICM + Australia Consultation in Bali in 2027.

Preparations covering logistics and policy priorities will begin early, Hendarsam said.

He invited all delegates to attend the 2027 meeting in Bali.

The meeting will promote secure information sharing, immigration data interoperability, cyber resilience, artificial intelligence, migrant worker protection and joint efforts against online scams and transnational crime, he said.

The consultation was held as part of the 29th ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs Ministers (DGICM) meeting in Cambodia from June 22 to June 25, 2026.

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Translator: Laily R, Rahmad Nasution

Editor: Primayanti

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