Jakarta: Australia stands ready to join the "Our Eyes" ASEAN intelligence group and provide counter-terrorism information and training to the group, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne says.

The Our Eyes initiative was founded in January and is made up of six ASEAN nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei.

An Australian Army soldier, left, answers questions from members of the Indonesian army during joint training. Credit:Australian Defence Department

It focuses on combating the rise of militant groups and violent extremism in the region, with a particular concentration on regional hot spots in places such as the Philippines' city of Marawi, which was last year attacked by a group aligned with Islamic State. The Our Eyes nations have vowed to cooperate and share information between both national militaries and police forces.

Its name evokes the long-established "Five Eyes" intelligence group, which is made up of Australia, the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Canada.