Participants at a seminar of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on Tuesday agreed to strengthen security cooperation.
??
Representatives from foreign ministries of 23 ARF members and officials in charge of security issues such as anti-terrorism and drug control, delivered proposals on enhancing cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries.
??
The seminar, sponsored by the Foreign Ministry, was held in Sanya, a scenic city in south China's island province of Hainan, between March 7 and 8.
??
Participants agreed that new threats, including terrorism, transnational crime and infectious diseases, have risen markedly in recent years, bringing uncertainty to regional security even though the overall situation in the Asia-Pacific region was generally stable.
??
These new issues have emerged against a complicated political, economic and cultural backdrop and should be tackled thoroughly and comprehensively, participants said.
??
While enhancing their own capacities for dealing with them, all countries should actively support and participate in international and regional initiatives, they said.
??
The participants spoke highly of the achievements made by the ARF in encouraging dialogue and cooperation to fight terrorism and respond to other issues, and called for all concerned to further this.
??
Plans for the seminar were first aired at the 11th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the ARF, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia last July.
??
Initiated in 1993, the ARF is the primary forum enhancing political and security cooperation in the Asia Pacific region and pivotal in building regional peace.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2005)