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India, Russia and China join forces to fight terror at trilateral meet
India, Russia and China join forces to fight terror
India joined hands with Russia and China on Monday to fight terror, pledging at their 13th trilateral meeting to crack down on not only terrorists but also those who finance and give refuge to them.
The three nations issued a strong joint statement on terror, saying religious, racial and ethnic divisions were no justification for terrorism.
Without naming any country, the communiqué said there was a need to “bring to justice perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts”.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said Russia and China would cooperate with New Delhi in implementing an India-sponsored anti-terror proposal lying dormant in the UN since 1996.
Swaraj said terror-related issues were the focus area of the meeting that lasted over 90 minutes.
Her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Russia’s long-time foreign minister Sergey Lavrov were part of the meeting.
They discussed new trends in international terrorism and were on the same page on the need to “step up information gathering and sharing, prevent the use of the Internet and other communication technologies for the purpose of recruitment and incitement to commit terrorist acts...”
Equally important, they said, was to prevent financing, planning and preparation of terror activities, block terrorist movements and financing of terrorism.
Russia and China appeared more amenable about India joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The 12th trilateral meeting had merely talked about India’s growing economic profile and economic linkages with APEC members.
“China and Russia would welcome India’s participation in the APEC,” says Monday’s statement.
Swaraj said Russia and China endorsed India’s push to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
India’s pending application could be approved after all “necessary negotiations and legal processes” were done.
