BUSAN, South Korea, 20 November 2005 — Asia-Pacific leaders vowed yesterday to dismantle the “terrorist” groups that have carried out a series of deadly attacks in the region.
“We condemned terrorist acts in the region that took thousands of lives and aimed to destabilise economic prosperity and security in the Asia-Pacific region,” the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders said.
Terror attacks “constitute a clear challenge,” the leaders said in a statement released at the end of their two-day annual summit in the South Korean city of Busan.
“To confront these ongoing threats, we reaffirmed our commitment... to review progress on our efforts to dismantle trans-boundary terrorist groups, eliminate the threat of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery,” the leaders said.
US President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed to the statement that also stressed that any new counter-terrorism measures must comply with laws on human rights.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister of largely Muslim Malaysia, said the leaders spent time discussing terrorism and how it should not be linked to the Islamic faith.
The root causes of terrorism must be addressed, but anti-terrorism measures that target the Muslim community as a whole would be counter-productive, he told a news conference.
Engaging Muslims in dialogue is not enough, Adbullah said, adding that they must also be given equal opportunities economically and socially.
“In order to succeed, there must be quality opportunities for them to have,” he said.
“The danger is that if they are deprived, if they are alienated... then this will become yet another kind of cause which will drive people to being unsatisfied, unhappy.
“The next step can be terrorism if that is the path they choose in order to get attention to what they want, their demands.”
Australia Pledges $70m to Fight Bird Flu
The leaders also announced new measures to fight bird flu as Australia pledged more than $70 million to help prepare the region for a possible pandemic.
“We agreed on collective practical measures, including: strengthening cooperation and technical assistance among APEC economies to limit influenza at its source and prevent human outbreaks,” the leaders said in a statement.
The 21 members pledged to test if the region was ready to cope with a flu pandemic and to fund experts to help countries respond more rapidly should one erupt.
The leaders also agreed to “enhancing information on border screening procedures and controls to increase transparency and to reduce risk to trade and travelers”.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 60 people and led to the slaughter of millions of poultry since late 2003 in APEC countries including Indonesia and China, which have reported new fatalities in the past week.
Australia announced the $70-million package to combat the virus and other diseases at the summit with 90 percent of the money to go towards bilateral assistance to the worst-hit countries.
“Australia will provide 100 million Australian dollars (73.3 million US dollars) over four years for initiatives to combat the threat of pandemics and other emerging infectious diseases within the region,” Prime Minister John Howard said in a statement.
Howard on Friday warned Asian nations not to cover up any outbreaks of bird flu, saying early and honest reporting would be key to preventing a pandemic.
In a veiled reference to Asian states such as China and Vietnam, Howard told the delegates that several countries had hidden the extent of bird flu outbreaks in 2003.
As well as taking steps to prepare for a possible pandemic, Howard stressed the “importance of putting aside any sense of national pride or self-consciousness about any outbreak in individual countries.”
The United Nations’ health and agriculture organizations last year criticized several Asian nations including China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam for being slow to report outbreaks of bird flu.
Chinese authorities Friday had locked down the village in eastern Anhui province where a 24-year-old pregnant woman died of bird flu last week, becoming the nation’s first confirmed human fatality from the virus.
Indonesia confirmed two more deaths on Thursday.
Japan’s Koizumi Defends Shrine Visits
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi again defended yesterday his war shrine visits that have caused great offense in South Korea and China, countries brutally occupied by Japan in the past.
“I visit Yasukuni shrine in order to pay my respect to the victims, who lost their lives against their will,” Koizumi told journalists after the conclusion of the APEC forum.
“Also (the visit) is aimed at reflecting on the past war and affirming our pledge not to wage a war again any more,” Koizumi said.
Less than a month before APEC, Koizumi went ahead with his fifth visit since taking office to Yasukuni, which neighboring countries see as a symbol of Japan’s militarism.
The Shinto sanctuary honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 top war criminals from World War II.
Koizumi was under fire when he held talks on Friday with South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, who has criticized Japan for its insensitivity amid memories of Japan’s 1910 to 1945 colonization of South Korea.
While Roh grudgingly agreed to meet Koizumi to show courtesy to a guest, China ruled out any meeting between President Hu Juntao and Koizumi even unofficially on the sidelines of the summit.
