Jim Molan calls for closer ties with Asia to stop Islamic State

Former Army major-general says Australia is in a part of the world that has ‘attraction’ for radical Islamic extremists.

Liberal senator Jim Molan. Picture: Gary Ramage

Australia needs to work closer with its Asian neighbours to tackle Islamic State as we are in “a part of the world that has attraction” for the terrorist group, Liberal senator Jim Molan says.

The former major general turned politician told The Daily Telegraph’s Miranda Devine he had “great faith” in Australian diplomats in Indonesia to forge stronger security ties after a series of deadly bombings in Surabaya.

“We are in a part of the world that has attraction for Islamic State, for Islamic extremism,” Senator Molan said on Devine’s web radio show. “And we’d better work together.”

Senator Molan worked as both an army attache and defence diplomat in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, during the 1990s. The Coalition senator said Asian border-control policies were not going to help stop the spread of Islamist terrorism across the region.

“The kind of border-control policies that many of our near neighbours operate are not going to assist them, in the way they assist us, in keeping these people out,” he said.

“We’ve defeated them in the Middle East … but they’ll pop up and this is how they’ll keep doing it.”

Senator Molan also said Indonesian President Joko Widodo was strong enough to contain growing Islamism in his country “for the moment”.

“I certainly have a high degree of faith in the police counter-terrorism organisation,” he said.

“The more important aspects of this is whether the Indonesian government … will allow Islamic extremism to gain a hold within government and the institutions of military, police, religion.”