From 23 - 25 June, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), with generous funding support from the Government of Japan and in partnership with the Government of Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), has convened a three-day regional workshop to strengthen criminal justice capacity to counter the terrorist exploitation of emerging technologies in Southeast Asia.
The workshop serves as a direct follow-on to the IIJ’s December 2025 Expert Group Meeting and reflects a shared commitment by Japan, Indonesia, and regional stakeholders to advance practical criminal justice and policy responses to the evolving technological threat landscape.
Southeast Asia is undergoing rapid digital transformation, with high rates of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption creating new opportunities but also increasing vulnerabilities to exploitation by malicious actors. Terrorist organisations are increasingly moving beyond traditional online platforms to experiment with generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance propaganda, recruitment, and operational planning. The persistent regional threat of terrorism, combined with the growing accessibility of advanced technologies, requires a shift from general awareness to concrete criminal justice, investigative, and policy responses to ensure practitioners remain ahead of evolving threats.
The workshop brought together criminal justice practitioners and policymakers from across Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Participants are joined by international and Japanese experts from organisations including ASEANAPOL, INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Council of Europe, and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). Technical specialists from leading private-sector organisations, including TikTok, Binance, and Chainalysis, also contribute expertise on emerging technological trends and investigative tools.
Over the course of the workshop, participants deepened their understanding of the latest technological developments and terrorist exploitation methods, engaged in multi-stakeholder policy discussions, and strengthened practical skills in digital forensics, cyber-enabled terrorism investigations, and evidence collection.
The opening ceremony featured remarks from Mr. Myochin Mitsuru, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia, Judge Syofia Tambunan, East Jakarta District Court; and Mr. Winthrop Wells, Acting Director of the Programmatic Unit at the IIJ.
By bringing together governments, international organisations, technology companies, and criminal justice practitioners, the workshop underscores the importance of collaborative and forward-looking approaches to ensuring that legal and operational frameworks keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies and the threats posed by their misuse.