MANILA, Philippines – Anti-terror experts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) member-states yesterday called for a more intense approach against the possible influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the region.

The experts visited the Philippines purposely to craft a collective strategy against the spread of violent Islamist movements such as ISIS in Asia.

Amina Rasul, president of the Philippine Center on Islam and Democracy (PCID), said the conference aims to solicit perspectives from experts on the challenges posed by the evolving Islamic radicalization and the extent of influence of ISIS in east Asia, particularly the Philippines, and make an assessment of the extent of these challenges.

… Former ASEAN secretary-general Ambassador Ong Keng Yong will lead the experts from the Nanyang Technological University and the S. Rajaratnam School for International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.

Among them are Kumar Ramakrishna of RSIS, Alistair Cook of the RSIS’ Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, Ahmad Hashim and Joseph Franco.