Terrorism's long shadow stretches across the world: Narendra Modi at East Asia Summit

Kuala Lumpur: Voicing concern over a spate of recent terror attacks in several countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said terrorism is no longer a "peripheral problem" for the region as its long shadow stretches across the world and called for new strategies to combat the menace.

"We often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia Summit here.

He called for a new global resolve and new strategies to combat terrorism, without balancing it against political considerations and said no country should use or support terrorism.

"There is no distinction between groups. There are no sanctuaries. There are no funds. There is no access to arms. But, we also have to work within our societies and with our youth," he added.

The Prime Minister welcomed the commitment to delink religion from terrorism and the efforts to promote human values that define every faith.

Noting that the East Asia Summit is the key forum to shape the region's collective future, Modi told the leaders of the 18-member grouping that the world still looks to the region to address global challenges and uncertainties.

He said that since his government assumed office 18 months ago, no region has seen greater engagement from India than the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region.

"This reflects a long standing national consensus in India on the importance of this region for India and the world," Modi said.

On upcoming Paris climate talks, the Prime Minister said, "There, we must not only come together to craft a balanced and concrete outcome on climate change. But we must also stand together to send a clear message that we will not retreat in the face of terror."

Modi reaffirmed India's active participation in the ASEAN led security dialogue and cooperation forums and said the East Asia Summit must continue to support the evolution of an inclusive, balanced, transparent and open regional architecture for security and cooperation.

"We must deepen our collective commitment to strengthen and abide by international rules and norms," he said.

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Defining his vision for the East Asia Summit, Modi said that the world still looks to the region to address global challenges, and stressed that the summit is the key forum to shape the collective future.

Addressing the 10th East Asia Summit here, Prime Minister Modi defined five elements for an Asian Century.

"First, support for regional architecture for security cooperation that is inclusive, balanced, transparent and open," said Prime Minister Modi.

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Defining ocean as a pathway to peace and prosperity, the Prime Minister insisted that India, along with ASEAN, shares a commitment to freedom of navigation, over flight and unimpeded commerce, in accordance with the accepted principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He also said that all the territorial disputes must be solved through peaceful means.

"Third, stronger cooperation in cyber security, outer space and non-proliferation. India will continue to deepen bilateral security partnerships in ASEAN and with other EAS partners," said the Indian Prime Minister.

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Defining his fourth vision for the East Asia Summit, he stressed on working towards early conclusion of regional comprehensive Economic Partnership.

"India will continue to support the efforts of our partner countries. India is taking a lead in establishing EAS Virtual Knowledge Portals on Disaster Management and Trauma Care and Nursing. The Nalanda University is shaping up as a world class centre of knowledge and learning," said Prime Minister Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also continued his strong stand against terrorism and condemned the recent string of terror attacks across the globe, saying that it was a dark shadow that is spreading fast and called for a new global resolve to combat terrorism.

"In this forum we often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terror strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our society and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," the Prime Minister said.

He asserted that no country should 'use' or 'support' terrorism and emphasized that there is no distinction between terror groups.

"There are no sanctuaries, no funds. There is no access to arms. But we also have to work within our societies and with our youth," the Prime Minister said.

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Prime Minister Modi strongly welcomed the commitment to dissociate terrorism from religion and the efforts to promote human values defining 'every' faith.

Prime Minister Modi arrived here on Saturday early morning to attend 10th ASEAN-India Summit and 13th East Asia Summit.