Cameron visits Southeast Asia

British Prime Minister David Cameron began a visit to Southeast Asia yesterday, looking to seal $1.2 billion in trade deals and push for greater cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Cameron arrived in Indonesia on the first stop of a four-day trip, accompanied by 30 British business leaders and his minister of state for trade Francis Maude, before he heads to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Following talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, he said the pair had agreed to step up efforts to combat the "evil threat" posed by ISIS.

Hundreds of young Britons have joined IS in Syria and Iraq, sparking fears they could launch attacks on home soil upon their return, while Indonesia fears up to 500 of its citizens have been lured to the Middle East by the jihadists.

"We've agreed to step up our joint efforts both to tackle the terrorist threat and to counter the extremist narrative," he said in a joint statement with Widodo at the presidential palace, adding ISIS was a "shared enemy".