Mr. Bolbongse Vangphaen, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, led the Thai delegation to the 20th ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (ARF ISM on CTTC) held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on 2-3 May 2024, co-chaired by the United States, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

The meeting discussed the progress on the implementation of the ARF Work Plan on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime 2024-2026 in its four Priority Areas: (1) Illicit Drugs (2) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) (3) Preventing and Countering Transnational Crime and (4) Human trafficking. The meeting emphasised the importance of promoting regional cooperation in law enforcement, information sharing and exchange of best practice and capacity building for officials in the prevention and investigation of terrorist and transnational crime acts, as well as other matters of interest on the international stage, such as the threats from the use of internet and technologies by non-state actors and the promotion of awareness of threats among the public and youth.

Furthermore, Director-General Bolbongse was invited as a panelist to speak on crosscutting issues between the ARF CTTC CBRN Priority Area and the ARF Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (NPD), which Thailand has been co-chairing with the United States and Sri Lanka since 2022. He noted that both frameworks were highly related and complementary, with the same objective to prevent Weapons of Mass Destruction and related materials falling into the wrong hands. As such, he saw the necessity to push for closer and more comprehensive exchange and collaboration between the two frameworks.

The ARF is an important ASEAN-led mechanism for security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region. It provides a forum for the 27 Participants to foster constructive dialogue and consultation towards promoting confidence-building measures and preventative diplomacy in the region. The five main areas of cooperation under the ARF include Disaster Relief, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Maritime Security, Security of and in the Use of ICTs, and Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, all of which corresponds to Thailand’s security interests.