Rudd also warned that terrorism remains a persistent global threat and called for greater cooperation between countries on intelligence, aviation security and counterterrorism.
Former Australian Prime Minister and Asia Society Global President and CEO Dr Kevin Rudd has praised Captain Smit Machchhar and Israeli passengers who helped avert the potentially catastrophic outcome during the recent flydubai cockpit incident, calling their actions an example of “courage” and “skill”.
Rudd argued that the nature of the threat makes international cooperation essential. Terrorism, he said, does not respect national borders and therefore requires countries to work together through intelligence-sharing, security cooperation and preventive action.
Rudd said the flydubai incident should serve as a reminder to governments and aviation authorities that security threats can emerge in unexpected ways and require constant vigilance. Rudd said the incident demonstrated the importance of preparedness when an unexpected security threat emerges aboard a commercial aircraft. Asked about the broader global fight against terrorism, Rudd said the threat had not disappeared despite years of international counterterrorism operations. “Terrorism is an enemy of all civilised societies and countries, and it hasn’t gone away,” he said, warning that the threat continues to “ferment” and “fester”. “This requires ongoing vigilance, collaboration between our intelligence authorities, our security authorities,” Rudd said, stressing the importance of being able to act before an incident develops into a major attack.
