Terrorism seen as a threat to growth of APEC economies
CEBU CITY – Terrorism was recognized by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies as one of the major threats to the economic growth of the region, especially in the trade and business sector.
The APEC Counter Terrorism Working Group’s (CTWG) 6th meeting already began in Cebu City on Tuesday as part of APEC third senior official meetings (SOM3).
In his welcome remarks, CTWG chair Oscar Valenzuela said it’s now the time for APEC member economies to lay down solutions specifically aimed at addressing security concerns that can potentially hamper trade and business.
Valenzuela, who also serves as senior counter-terrorism director under the Anti-Terrorism Council of the Philippines, said strengthening the security aspect of trade and business will greatly contribute to the stability and productivity in economic relations between among APEC member states.
Security of trade covers many aspects, from non-proliferation and export control measures, border control, and security in the transport of goods and people among others.
He said if security of trade measures are not taken or given adequate importance, then it will leave the APEC members vulnerable to certain elements such as terrorism who may seek to disrupt commerce or take advantage of the system to advance their cause or even for their own personal gain.
“We are here in our 6th meeting to compare notes, share experiences, to assess our efforts as a group, and to look specifically at the four cross-cutting areas of our work, which are secure travel, secure supply chain, secure finance, and secure infrastructure,” Valenzuela said.
“We live in a very complex world increasingly becoming more dangerous. Terrorism disrupts the normal and peaceful way of living of our people. It disrupts how we conduct our business and the way we travel. It is difficult to combat the threats like terrorism because of their conventional nature and the way they are unseen, anonymous, and unpredictable. Yet, we must not falter,” he further said.
However, he noted that while the economies have the knowledge and necessary tools to fight terrorism, it’s also a matter of adjusting security procedures, making innovations, and staying one step ahead.
“We must learn how to think out of the box against an enemy who is constantly changing their tactics. And most importantly, as one global community and one united APEC region, we should unite and help each other in this effort against terrorism,” Valenzuela further said.
As part of these efforts, APEC member economies are now required to submit updates on their counterterrorism action plans every two years, instead of annually.
“We were to believe, among other considerations, that submissions of counter-terrorism action plans updates between the longer time period will give us more time to coordinate with our relevant agencies for more comprehensive and updated data and also give these agencies more time to work on their action plans,” Valenzuela said.
As of today, at least 15 economies have already updated their counterterrorism action plan for the year as of 2015. The deadline for submission is 2016.