SANTIAGO, 21 November 2004 — The US-led “war on terror” must include a resolution to the Palestinian question and involve a broader coalition, Washington’s Asia-Pacific partners warned yesterday as leaders of 21 Pacific Rim economies opened a two-day summit here.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was “very important” to identify and address the “root causes” of global terrorism, among them the struggle for Middle East peace. “It is not in the interest of our planet to have a proportion of the Muslim world deeply alienated from the West,” she told a business conference parallel to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit here.

The summit aimed at liberalizing trade and addressing global security concerns, with US President George W. Bush seeking to rally international support to counter nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea.

“The leader of North Korea will hear a common voice,” Bush said after morning talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the summit, which opened after at least 25,000 people marched in a protest Friday against the summit and Bush’s visit.

In addition to Koizumi, Bush held bilateral meetings yesterday with leaders from China, Russia, South Korea, Canada and Indonesia. The first four countries are partners with the United States in the stalled six-nation talks to persuade North Korea — which is not a part of APEC — to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

In comments after his meeting with Koizumi, Bush also lauded the efforts of European nations involved in diplomacy to persuade Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons. Iran last week agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and all related activities in a deal worked out with Britain, France, Germany and the European Union.

At an earlier session, both Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed a commitment to peace in Asia.

“I look forward to working with him over the next four years to continue our close work on keeping the peace — peace in the Korean Peninsula, peace throughout the Pacific region and spreading peace throughout the world,” Bush said.

“Both sides expressed the hope that the issue will be solved peacefully through dialogue,” Hu agreed.

On Friday, Bush won support from China for a strong US approach toward North Korea.

“I believe you can never push too hard for a good purpose,” said Kong Quan, chief spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. He said the biggest barrier toward resuming the talks was “the extreme, mutual distrust” between Washington and Pyongyang.