Jakarta hosts EU-Southeast Asia Counterterrorism Police meeting discussing dissolution of terrorist organisations and evolving threats

23.10.2025

Jakarta

Press and information team of the Delegation to INDONESIA and BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

ESIWA+

Jakarta, 23 October 2025 — The European Union (EU) Delegation to Indonesia partnered with Indonesia’s National Police Special Detachment 88 (Densus 88 Anti-Teror) for a two-day cooperative activity for police officers from 11 countries in Southeast Asia and the EU to discuss emerging threats and best practice in counterterrorism.

The activity — supported by the EU project ESIWA+ (Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia and the Indo-Pacific) — convened counterterrorism officers from nations such as Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, as well as EU law enforcement agency Europol, and EU border agency Frontex.

Counterterrorism police officers discussed the dissolution of terrorist organisations following the 2024 police-led disbandment of Jema’ah Islamiyah and lessons learned from the transitional demise of militant groups in European Union Member States.

Participants then exchanged current threat assessments and investigative experience, covering lone-actor attacks, diversified ideological narratives, increasingly younger offenders, the online landscape, and emerging technologies.

A final session provided updates on former ISIS caliphate residents and violent extremists in detention facilities or displacement camps in Syria, and the complexities of addressing this evolving set of challenges.

EU Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Denis Chaibi said: “Indonesia has demonstrated an incredible commitment to counterterrorism efforts for more than two decades, especially in recent years through its remarkable initiatives in deradicalisation and ideological transformation. This work is vital and inspiring.

Global cooperation remains crucial, while bilateral partnerships like that between the European Union and Indonesia are equally important — they help us better understand each other, prevent collateral harm, and build shared resilience.”

Chief of Special Detachment 88 Inspector General Sentot Prasetyo said: “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the European Union and ESIWA for their continued commitment and collaboration in addressing the challenges of counterterrorism.

“Indonesia carries a clear and firm message to the world: our nation gives no space to terrorism in any form. I hope today’s event will serve as a model for effective collaboration — one that enhances regional security and contributes to our common goal: a peaceful and secure world, free from the fear of terrorism,” he added.

The activity, which convened over 80 participants, was a significant iteration of an ongoing series of engagements to promote and facilitate cooperation between counterterrorism police units and agencies in the European Union and Southeast Asia, supported by ESIWA+.

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About the EU’s ESIWA+ project:

ESIWA+ (Enhancing the EU’s Security Cooperation in and with Asia and the Indo-Pacific) works to enhance cooperation in four thematic areas: counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism, crisis management/addressing hybrid threats, cyber security, and maritime security. ESIWA+ is co-funded by the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), Germany and France. ESIWA is co-implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and by Expertise France.

Indonesia was among the initial five pilot nations when the ESIWA project was launched in early 2020. From September 2020, ESIWA began to support the EU Delegation in Jakarta and the implementation of the EU Activity Plan. ESIWA has since implemented more than 10 workshops, roundtables and seminars under the EU Activity Plan involving some 500 participants; and supported the development of Indonesia's Knowledge Hub on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (IKHub).