U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Indonesia on Monday, home of the world's largest Muslim population, where he will seek additional help from Southeast Asian leaders in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, Reuters reported.
During a stop in Jakarta, Kerry plans to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, Australia's prime minister and the foreign minister of the Philippines.
While mainly focusing on recruiting more help in the fight against the Islamic State, talks will also involve territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea, as well as the fight against Ebola, and the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership currently in negotiations, reported Reuters.
Concerning the Islamic State, discussions will reportedly focus on ways to prevent the recruitment of fighters from Southeast Asia along with preventing the return of fighters to the area and blocking militant financing, according to one U.S. State Department official who asked Reuters to remain anonymous.
"While Indonesian crackdowns after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and an attack on the holiday island of Bali the following year, have weakened and dispersed militants at home," wrote Reuters, "a growing number of them have left the country, and Malaysia, to join Islamic State in the Middle East."
Another official told Reuters that Kerry would ask Widodo to work more diligently to freeze assets of militants in accord with the U.N. Financial Action Task Force requirements.
"They've made some progress on that," the State Department Official said. "The hope is that they will make more and it's part of an ongoing effort ...to encourage the Indonesians to do all they need to do to meet their obligations under the U.N."
Kerry's trip comes days after meetings with top Chinese and Russian diplomats also aimed to garner support in the fight against the Islamic State.
