New Delhi, Oct 13: India and Singapore today decided to upgrade their bilateral defence cooperation, even as both identified international terrorism and the threats from it as the prime area of their security concern. Apart from working closely to meet the challenges posed by terrorism, "we must develop a counter-ideology" as the terrorists of all hues use violence as a weapon to achieve a so-called ideological goal, Singaporean Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said while delivering a lecture organised by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) here.

Defence Minister George Fernandes, in his remarks, pointed out that "India and Singapore are clear that terrorism cannot be associated with religion and that both South and Southeast Asia are fortunate in having evolved syncretic traditions that have bound rather than divided communities".
Teo, who would sign a defence cooperation agreement with India during his current visit, said there were three elements in the security challenges facing all nations, especially in Asia, today. These were terrorism, sea-borne threats and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) falling into the hands of terrorists.

"A small country is naturally more concerned about WMDs because, like you (in India), we cannot pull back say 100 kilometres" in case of a nuclear attack, Teo said.
Bureau Report