ASEAN strengthens cooperation in combating transnational crime

The session was chaired by Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and attended by the ASEAN Secretary-General and heads of delegations from the ASEAN member states and Timor Leste.

At the session, countries unanimously supported Vietnam’s initiative calling for the adoption of the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Arrest of Wanted Criminals at the 47th ASEAN Summit, slated for the end of October 2025, in Malaysia.

In addition to the ASEAN Plan of Action on Combating Transnational Crime for 2026–2035, delegates also approved five other high-level documents, namely the ASEAN Declaration on Combating Money Laundering; the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Using Sports to Prevent Violent Extremism; the Melaka Declaration on Combating Transnational Crime; the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Illegal Migration in Southeast Asia; and the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Cybercrime and Online Fraud.

In his remarks, Minister Luong Tam Quang stressed that, in the context of globalization and deeper international integration, transnational crime remains a major challenge for many countries, including Vietnam.

He underscored that, thanks to effective cooperation with international organizations and law enforcement agencies, particularly ASEAN member states, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam with its persistent resolute uncompromising effort has achieved significant results of combating transnational crime in recent years.

Also at the meeting, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam proposed four approaches to further enhance regional cooperation in combating transnational crime, which were highly appreciated by participating delegations of regional countries.

According to Vietnam’s representative, ASEAN members should strengthen information exchange and proactively identify new methods and tactics of transnational crime, as well as establish joint investigation mechanisms and conduct joint operations to improve effectiveness of combating transnational crime.

In addition, law enforcement agencies of countries should step up coordination, share experiences and support one another in applying advanced science and technology to the fight against crime, especially the application of digital forensics, electronic tracing, data analysis, as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart surveillance systems to detect crime and track criminals in real time.

The Ministerr of Public Security of Vietnam also suggested accelerating the establishment of a common ASEAN criminal database to facilitate mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition and the transfer of sentenced persons among regional countries. 

Furthermore, border-sharing countries should coordinate in building and replicating drug-free border communes, eliminating  the root cause of transnational crime to build crime-free communities.

On the sidelines of AMMTC 19, Minister Luong Tam Quang had separate bilateral meetings with Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Vice Minister of Justice of the Republic of Korea Lee Jin-soo and Vice Minister of Public Security of China Wang Zhizhong to discuss future cooperation in combating various forms of transnational crime.