The identities of foreign fighters and how they are moving across the South East Asia region will be the subject of a new forum, as ministers grapple with how to combat the growing "menace" of IS in the Philippines.
More than two months after it began, the battle for Marawi in Mindanao in the Philippines continues - revealing the danger of it "as an ISIL object of ambition and potential base", Australian Attorney General George Brandis said on Saturday.
Mr Brandis, along with Indonesian security Minister Wiranto, met with representatives from six countries in Manado, North Sulawesi on Saturday.
There they discussed a myriad of topics from deradicalisation efforts, legislation, border control and financing of terrorist networks.
Ministers have agreed to establish a Foreign Terrorist Fighters Strategic Forum that would "synchronise" efforts by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and "utilise and/or establish" databases on fighters and cross border movements.
The Australian Federal Police and the Indonesian National Police are also expected to co-host law enforcement talks next month, bringing together "key stakeholders" affected by IS.
It follows significant criticism by security experts, who said that the ability of IS militants to capture the southern Philippines city of Marawi and continue to hold it has revealed an intelligence failure.
Just how many Indonesians are involved in fighting in the Philippines remains unclear. Estimates have previously put the number at 20.
But according to the Law and Human Rights Ministry, 35 Indonesians have been linked to foreign terrorist fighters, with 14 people still involved in the conflict there.
The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) has called for an integrated watch-list of extremists across the region, pointing out that many key fighters are still not on Interpol's Red Alert rollcall of wanted terrorists.
While Australia and Indonesia have spoken about their strong security ties and co-operation, there are "formidable political and institutional obstacles" in co-operation, IPAC has said.
These include "Philippine-Malaysian distrust" and a lack of correct information coming out of Manila.
The forum is hoping to improve these ties, establishing a group of senior officials to continue reviewing the forum's achievements.
Ministers are also planning to engage with the newly created Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube, to ensure it "reflects the region's unique challenges".
