Declaration on Terrorism by the 8th ASEAN Summit

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, condemn the heinous terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia, and in the Philippine cities of Zamboanga and Quezon. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who died and to those who were injured. We express the solidarity of our countries with Indonesia and the Philippines and ASEAN’s full support for their determined pursuit of the terrorist elements responsible for the attacks. We commend Indonesia and the Philippines for their efforts to curtail terrorism within their borders and for their determination to step up those efforts.

2. We denounce once again the use of terror, with its toll on human life and society, in many places around the world for whatever cause and in the name of whatever religious or ethnic aspiration. We deplore the tendency in some quarters to identify terrorism with particular religions or ethnic groups.

3. We are determined to carry out and build on the specific measures outlined in the ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, which we adopted in Brunei Darussalam in November 2001. We resolve to intensify our efforts, collectively and individually, to prevent, counter and suppress the activities of terrorist groups in the region. The ASEAN countries shall continue with practical cooperative measures among ourselves and with the international community.

4. We welcome Thailand’s accession to the Agreement on Information Exchange and Exchange of Communication Procedures. We commend our law-enforcement authorities for the cooperative work that has resulted in the arrest of persons plotting to commit acts of terrorism and in otherwise preventing such acts. We direct them to continue to intensify their cooperation in combating terrorism and, in particular, in expeditiously carrying out the Work Plan adopted by the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism in Kuala Lumpur in May 2002, raising the level of cooperation, coordination and the sharing of information in the fight against terrorism.

5. We look forward to the following activities:

• the International Conference on Anti-Terrorism and Tourism Recovery in Manila next week;
• the Regional Conference on Combating Money-Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Bali in December 2002;
• the Intersessional Meeting on Terrorism of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, in March 2003;
• the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime with ministerial counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in Bangkok in October 2003; and
• the establishment of the Regional Counter-terrorism Center in November 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.

6. We call on the international community to avoid indiscriminately advising their citizens to refrain from visiting or otherwise dealing with our countries, in the absence of established evidence to substantiate rumors of possible terrorist attacks, as such measures could help achieve the objectives of the terrorists.

7. We urge the international community to support ASEAN’s efforts to combat terrorism and restore business confidence in the region. We are determined to cooperate actively in mitigating the adverse impact of terrorist attacks on ASEAN countries and urge the international community to assist us in these efforts.

8. We resolve to ensure the security and harmony of our societies and the safety of our peoples and also of others who are in our countries and in the region.