The 14th ASEANAPOL Training Cooperation Meeting (ATCM)

The 14th ASEANAPOL Training Cooperation Meeting (ATCM)
Bangkok, Thailand
March 5–6, 2026

The annual ASEANAPOL Training Cooperation Meeting (ATCM) was held on March 5–6, 2026, in Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the Royal Thai Police. His Excellency Police Major General Jaturapat Bhiromkaew, Chairperson of the 14th ASEANAPOL Training Cooperation Meeting (ATCM), welcomed the delegates from ASEANAPOL Member Countries, Dialogue Partners, and Observers, highlighting the meeting’s importance as a platform for exchanging experiences, best practices, and the results of cooperation in training and capacity-building programs.

The Chairperson also stressed the need to enhance cooperation with Dialogue Partners (DPs) and Observers (OBs), and appointed Police Colonel Antonio C. Bilon, Jr., Chief, Individual Training Program Development Division, Directorate for Education and Training, Philippine National Police, as Vice Chairman.

The 14th ATCM served as a critical pillar of the Royal Thai Police’s ASEANAPOL Chairmanship. The meeting successfully gathered representatives from all 10 ASEANAPOL Member Countries (AMCs), 10 Dialogue Partners (DPs), and 4 Observers (OBs). The ASEANAPOL Secretariat was represented by Executive Director Police Senior Colonel Kongkrissada Kittithiraphong, Ph.D., Director for Plans and Programmes Police Colonel Jean Mary Mangahis, and DSP Suresh Subramaniam, DSP for Plans and Programmes Officer I.

The meeting was guided by the “RTP-9 Framework” (Respect, Teamwork, Professionalism, and results-oriented cooperation).

Key strategic highlights included:

Combating Scam Centers: A major consensus was reached to prioritize the disruption of scam centers linked to human trafficking and forced criminality.

Financial Disruption: Focus was placed on real-time monitoring and dismantling criminal financial networks, specifically targeting mule accounts and cryptocurrency laundering.

Operational Readiness: The Secretariat presented the 2026 Training and Capacity-Building Calendar, featuring specialized workshops on cybercrime, counter-terrorism financing, and intelligence-led policing.

The primary objective was to align regional training efforts with the evolving landscape of transnational crime, specifically targeting the surge in online scams and human trafficking.

A new mandate was established to conduct comprehensive training evaluations. These results will be submitted directly to the ASEANAPOL Chiefs of Police to ensure quality training and participant competency.

Enhanced Coordination: Dialogue Partners and Observers are required to provide regular administrative updates to ensure sufficient lead time and logistical efficiency for future courses.

The 14th ATCM reaffirmed ASEANAPOL’s unity in the face of increasingly sophisticated transnational threats. Through the shared commitment of Dialogue Partners and Observers, the conference successfully moved from general discussion to a concrete, results-oriented training strategy for 2026.