Prepared for the Iff 1 ARF Conference of Heads of Defence Universities/Colleges/InstUutions Regional Cooperation against Terrorism -The Responsibility of Defense Institutions in Education and Research Lt. General Zhao Gang Vice President PLA National Defense University China September 2006
Regional Cooperation against Terrorism The Responsibility of Defense Institutions in Education and Research Lt. General Zhao Gang Vice President PLA National Defense University China The new century has witnessed rapid development and spread of international terrorist activities in unprecedented intensity and scope in the Asia Pacific region. Normal social order and national security of countries in the region have thus been seriously endangered. In deed, international terrorism is a common enemy of the whole region. Against such a background, the promotion of regional cooperation in meeting with ever increasing challenges of international terrorism has become the common desire of all nations in the region. I. Enhanced regional cooperation against terrorism The Asia Pacific region has been severely afflicted by international terrorist activities that spread rampantly throughout the region. Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, have been affected to different degrees. Among different sub-regions, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia are the ones that are in face with extremely severe terrorist threats.
Unprecedented consensus among various countries in the region has been reached on enhancing regional cooperation in the fight against international terrorism in the past years, and great progress has been made in that respect. After September 11 th terrorist attacks, all nations in the region condemned the brutal act of international terrorism and voiced their common desire of enhanced international cooperation to meet common threat of international terrorism. The informal summit of APEC held in October 2001 in Shanghai issued a joint statement which expressed the firm determination of APEC members to join hands in the fight against international terrorism. At the end of the same year, the US launched the war on Afghanistan aimed at total destruction of the hideouts of Al Qada. The wide support for the war from the international society showed unanimous position of the international society against international terrorism. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) had started cooperation against terrorism well before September 11th terrorist attacks. At the same time when the organization was established in June 2001, the heads of member countries signed the Shanghai Convention against Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism. The convention gave a clear definition on terrorism and established cooperation mechanisms among branches of law enforcement, intelligence and armed forces. The first joint exercise against terrorism by SCO member countries was held in August 2003, and an anti-terrorist center in charge of coordinating regional 2
actions against terrorism was established in June 2004. Some significant progress has also been made in multilateral cooperation against international terrorism in the Asia Pacific region as a whole, with ASEAN as the main platform. ASEAN countries issued a joint declaration on Joint Action to counter Terrorism in November 2001. A special ASEAN ministerial meeting on terrorism was held in May 2002, which came out with a plan of action to combat transnational crimes. The plan made specific arrangements for the cooperation against international terrorism. July 2003 saw the establishment of Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism in Malaysia. The main tasks of the centre include doing research on terrorist activities and training officials responsible for anti-terrorist affairs. An anti-terrorist ministerial conference was held in Bali, Indonesia in February 2004, during which concerned ministers from Asia Pacific countries explored in depth regional cooperation against international terrorism. Moreover, non-traditional security cooperation under the framework of "ASEAN 10 plus 3" and "ASEAN plus l"has also produced some important consensus, and a series of specific anti-terrorist measures has been adopted. The cooperation against international terrorism in the Asia Pacific region has promoted common interests of nations in the region, deepened mutual confidence and understanding, and given impetus to the process of multilateral security dialogue and cooperation in the region. 3
II. Challenges in the fight against international terrorism Although some progress has been made in the fight against terrorism in the region, an extremely serious situation is still ahead. As shown in the terrorist explosion in Bombay, India, last July, international terrorist groups would make use of any chance to create terror. First, the differences in the definition of terrorism will cast negative impact upon cooperation. Different definitions of terrorism may lead to double standards adopted by some countries in the fight against terrorism. And, some countries may even make use of terrorists for their own objectives. There exist various kinds of terrorist organizations in the Asia Pacific region. Due to different perceptions and standards of terrorism, the terrorists in the eyes of some countries may be perceived as "freedom fighters" or "national heroes" by others. To the extreme, some countries may try to take advantage of terrorist organizations to achieve their own strategic objectives. The differences in the definition of terrorism may give rise to mutual suspicions and thus, weakening the desire for cooperation. Second, substantial progress has yet to be made in the process of multilateral security cooperation for an effective multilateral anti-terrorism mechanism in the Asia Pacific region 4
The cooperation against terrorism in the region is still in its preliminary stage up to now. It remains at the level of declarations of anti-terrorism position. Some agreements on intelligence exchange, law enforcement cooperation and joint actions have been reached but yet to be put into effect. An obvious obstacle for anti-terrorism cooperation in the region is the lack of a mechanism that can effectively coordinate and implement multilateral cooperation against terrorism. Shanghai Cooperation Organization has made active efforts. However, it can just play a sub-regional role limited in Central Asia. ASEAN Regional Forum is a forum at regional level but lacks the ability to act. APEC is more of an economic cooperation organization mainly on economic issues and can only make some declarations at policy level at most. Such a situation will, no doubt, constrain multilateral anti-terrorism cooperation in the region from further progress. Third, greater attention has been attached to cracking down on terrorism in respect of the measures taken hitherto in the region and efforts in eliminating root causes of terrorism are far from being enough. The root causes giving rise to terrorism are so complicated that no single remedy can be found. An effective treatment of the issue is the organic combination of comprehensive measures. The fight against terrorism is not just destroying the organizations or people that conduct terrorist activities. More important, the root causes breeding terrorism must be addressed. To that end, comprehensive methods and measures that combine political, economic and military powers are 5
more desirable. Fourth, contradictions that embedded deep in the fight against international terrorism may protrude With the in-depth development in the fight against terrorism, some deeply embedded contradictions will emerge and need to be solved, such as how to achieve total elimination of the root causes of terrorism, how to assure the fight against terrorism to continue on a normal path without violating accepted norms of international laws, and how to avoid stimulating existing ethnic and religious disputes and thus the shadow of "conflicts among civilizations" upon the fight against terrorism. IIljCMna's Policy and Measures against international terrorism China is also a country seriously affect by international terrorism. Western border areas of China have seen the spread of terrorism since the early 1990s. To cope with increasing terrorist threats, China has been trying to crack down on terrorism and a systematic and integral policy has come into being. First, oppose all forms of terrorism. The international society should take an identical position toward and firmly crack down on terrorism without adopting double standards, no matter when or where terrorist activities happen, no matter to whom they are directed, no matter who the organizers are, and no matter the 6
forms they are in. Second, avoid magnifying the fight against terrorism. In order to avoid damages on the innocent, actions against terrorism can be carried out only when there is proven evidence and a clear objective is set. The fight against terrorism must not be linked to a specific ethnic group or religion, and should not magnify the scope. Third, the fight against terrorism must not aggravate ethnic disputes, religious hostilities, conflicts among civilizations and the estrangement among people. The fight against terrorism should provide new opportunities for enhanced exchanges and mutual emulation, and serve as a new start for dialogue and integration and also the new dynamism for common progress and prosperity. Fourth, terrorism must be treated by looking into its root cause and symptoms. International terrorism should be dealt with heavy blows and eliminated totally. At the same time, great importance should also be attached to the eliminating the ground breeding terrorism. Fifth, the fight against terrorism calls for enhanced international cooperation. No single country can bear the difficult task of countering terrorism on its own. The winning of the fight against terrorism will be decided by the solidarity and coordination among nations. 7
In practice, China has actively participated in international cooperation against terrorism and a lot of fruitful efforts have been made. First, China has been earnestly implementing a series of resolutions against terrorism adopted by the United Nations and UN Security Council and actively participated in the work of UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee. After the September 11 Attacks, China joined the International Convention for the suppression of Terrorist Bombings and signed the International Convention for the suppression of Financing of terrorism. Up to now, China has joined 10 and signed 1 international convention against terrorism. Second, China has been advocating enhanced regional cooperation against terrorism and actively participating in the exchanges and cooperation against terrorism. China pushed forward the establishment of permanent organs on countering terrorism in Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China held a joint military anti-terrorism exercise with Kirghizstan in October 2002, and joined in a joint military anti-terrorism exercise within the framework of SCO in August 2003. Moreover, China entered periodic bilateral anti-terrorism consultations with the US, Russia, the UK, France, Pakistan and India. Third, China's efforts in cracking down on "East Turkistan" terrorist groups have 8