india

Updated: Nov 19, 2019 00:22 IST

The international community should come forward to eliminate terrorist safe havens, disrupt their networks and financing, and thwart cross-border movements to ensure sustainable regional security, defence minister Rajnath Singh said in Bangkok on Monday.

Addressing the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Thailand’s capital city, the defence minister said some states use terror to pursue political goals, thereby making regional security vulnerable.

“It is so much worse when terrorists are aided, abetted, armed, financed and sheltered by States,” Singh said. “The interplay between states and non-state actors, used as proxies to foment violence, has worsened this menace. The persistence of state-sponsored terrorism is not just a painful cancer, it is also the leading reason for unsustainable security.”

Security is only effective when it is sustainable and it is sustainable only when the interests of all in the region are taken on board, Singh said, stressing upon the need for a more cooperative, equitable and consultative paradigm to deal with broad and complex security challenges and help find sustainable solutions.

Sustainability implies prioritisation of peaceful resolution of disputes, avoidance of use or threat of use of force and adherence to international laws. “Our region must remain open and welcome the interests of all, those who live in it and others whose interests are in it. In short, our approach to security in the Indo-Pacific region is sustainable by definition because it emphasises Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR),” he said.

On the negotiations for a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, the minister expressed hopes that the outcome of these talks will be in line with all relevant international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and promote freedom of navigation, overflight and lawful commerce.

On the issue of denuclearisation of Korean peninsula, Singh said India looks forward to the progress made through dialogue in addressing all related issues, including the proliferation trail linking South and East Asia.

“As dialogue remains on the table, we hope missile launches and such destabilising activities will cease,” he said.

He also expressed India’s eagerness to co-chair the India-Indonesia Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the next cycle.