Asia ‘must unite’ against terrorism in region

Southeast Asian delegates at a ­regional security forum in ­Singapore called for more ­cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries in fighting terrorism.

Countries from the Asean bloc that attended the Asian Security Forum, which wrapped up ­on Sunday, also said they planned to use spy planes and drones to stem the movement of militants across their porous borders, as concerns rise over the growing clout of Islamic State in the region.

“Our open borders are being exploited by terrorist groups to facilitate [the transfer of] personnel and materials,” Le Luong Minh, the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said at the summit, which is also known as the ­Shangri-La Dialogue.

Defence officials from ­Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed on greater regional ­cooperation against the threat of terrorism, as well as against piracy in the Sulu Sea in the southwestern Philippines.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, with the assistance of Singapore, have been conducting joint maritime patrols in the Sulu Sea since last year after a series of kidnappings by the pro-Islamic State Abu Sayyaf group.