APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force chairman Ambassador Benjamin Defensor told some 450 delegates to the APEC Symposium on Total Supply Chain Security in Singapore on Friday that inter-faith dialogue must not be underestimated by governments in the fight against terrorism, if not its outright prevention.
He also enumerated three challenges APEC must address in confronting terror: "leadership, public-private partnership, and developing a counter-threat culture."
"At APEC, it is assuring to note that leaders and ministers gather every year to declare their commitments, to accelerate trade and enhance human security," Defensor said. "At the working level, however, stirring dissonance exists and questions arise on how pertinent initiatives and programs should be implemented. At APEC, the matter of counter-terrorism itself, which is an area of security, remains insecure."
APEC has 21 members — referred to as "member economies" — which account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, approximately 56 percent of world GDP and about 48 percent of world trade. It is the most economically dynamic region having generated nearly 70 percent of global economic growth in 10 years since its inception in 1989.
"Being a cross-cutting issue, terrorism must be dealt with from any angle. This is the first assertion that must be accepted by all and remembered especially by every policy maker. The acceptance should be premised only on the context and reality of terrorism as absolutely disruptive and destructive, of life, lifelines and freedoms," Defensor said.
He said in the case of APEC, terrorism is a clear challenge to the region’s goal of advancing prosperity and enhancing security.
He said as long as "the contexts are different for the members of the region, there will be no shared culture and with it, no uniform focused effort across the board to fight or counter the menace."
He said the differing views also apply to other forms of threats in the region, from natural tragedies to the spread of avian flu.
"Until today, responses to any incident, when they occur, drastically differ. Attitudes before, during and after incidents vary. Remarkably, notwithstanding the forging of numerous agreements on combating specific threats or recovering from crises, actual actions on the ground sometimes neither jibe nor connect," Defensor said.
He said the Asia-Pacific region is full of security and insecurity dilemmas. In the developing world where state and individual priorities often clash, heightened security measures may entail diminished privileges or abraded rights, he said. "Several other conditions like poverty, ignorance, and group affiliations trap people in certain situations and bind authorities."
He said there is a need to spread "a common context and reality through some multi-dimensional and multi-pronged system that integrates all possible approaches of all committed sectors."
"And especially from the point of those in power, there is a need to establish an acceptable structure for uniform action."
He cited expert studies that called on APEC members to "move from principles to practice, to implement cooperative measures which will create real capacities for prevention, protection and even consequence management."
Defensor said the threats to security, both to individuals and states in the region, continue to proliferate and take the blind side even as the momentum of trade outpaces the perceived risks and dangers.
"The changing faces of terror have complicated the regional dynamics and there is no guarantee that the Asia-Pacific is safer or more secure today than it was over a decade ago," he said.
He said increasing globalization allowed terror groups to move funds, weapons, explosives and personnel and "outsourced" their work to further their cause all over the world in a manner that would impress modern CEOs.
He cited author Thomas Friedman’s observation that al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has proved to be a "very deft supply chain manager" as he assembled a virtual company for the 9/11 attacks in the United States by regionally recruiting the suicide pilots, outsourcing their training, and synchronizing operations through e-mail.