Taiwan expressed its support for the fight against terror during an APEC meeting Wednesday.
The statement came as top Pacific Rim ministers confronted their most urgent topics -- North Korea's nuclear weapons program and how terrorism undermines the economic alliance's efforts to liberalize trade -- in Los Cabos, Mexico.
While Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (
A press release issued on behalf of the Taiwan delegation said that the country would not shirk its obligations.
"Fighting terrorism is an inevitable international duty. As a member of the international community, Taiwan is supportive of the fight against terrorism and will take action, if necessary, to curb the violence incurred by terrorism," the press release stated.
Diplomats from APEC's 21 mem-ber economies participated in two days of meetings at the Mexican resort, ahead of a gathering of their bosses -- heads of state and top government officials, including the presidents of China and the US.
While the grouping always puts economics at the top of its agenda, terrorism's threat to trade -- especially after the deadly bombings this month in the Indonesian resort of Bali -- hung over the meeting.
The two highest-profile terrorist attacks in recent years -- the Sept. 11 attacks and the nightclub bombing in Bali -- took place in APEC nations. Other APEC members, including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, have been identified as possible havens for extremists linked to al-Qaeda.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Taiwan's government has extended substantive support to the US and collaborated with other APEC member economies to combat terror financing.
Efforts were made through cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, an inter-governmental body, and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
According to Lee, Taiwan's anti-money laundering center has reported to the US, detailing 277 dubious banking accounts and 1,299 suspicious transactions on foreign currency during the year from September 2000 to September last year.
Lee also endorsed the Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) program, a US-proposed initiative designed to expedite the movement of goods and people, while adding a layer of security.
The package would cost both governments and the private sector billions of dollars to reconfigure the ways they operate and regulate.
The minister urged the establishment of an efficient financial market and the limiting of terrorist financing by means of an international infrastructure.
Despite facing divisive forces, those at the summit emphasized the core mission of APEC -- to bring economies together in an age of globalization and to make trade flow more freely.
For his part, Lin suggested member economies share their experiences and improve cooperation on how to uphold security while promoting trade.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said on Wednesday that this new age of terrorism requires vigilance to keep trade both safe and unfettered.
He said the economic and logistical difficulties of restructuring how goods and people flow between nations were outweighed by the danger of terrorism.
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