Rajnath Singh urges international community to eliminate terrorist safe havens at ASEAN meet

NEW DELHI: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday urged the international community to scourge terrorism at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus in Bangkok. Calling upon his counterparts of other ASEAN countries, Singh, in his address said there was a dire need to eliminate terrorist safe havens, disrupt their networks & financing and thwart their cross-border movement to ensure sustainable regional security.

Addressing the sixth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, the Defence Minister described terrorism as the most obvious and heinous of cross-border crimes, adding that some states use terror to pursue political goals making regional security vulnerable.

“It is so much worse when terrorists are aided, abetted, armed, financed and sheltered by States. 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 painful cancer, it is also the leading reason for unsustainable security,” said Shri Rajnath Singh.

Stressing upon ‘Sustainable Security’, which is the theme of ADMM Plus, Rajnath Singh said that 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. 

He further emphasized upon the need for a more cooperative, equitable and consultative paradigm to deal with broad and complex security challenges to find sustainable solutions.