By NNN-PTI
New Delhi : India Tuesday said countries in the Asian region should build strong channels of communication between their defence establishments and share intelligence on terror groups which will prove to be an effective bulwark against spread of terrorism and other forms of conflict.
“We must devise common solutions to common challenges that threaten our collective security,” Defence Minister A K Antony said in his speech at the inauguration of the three-day 10th Asian Security Conference organised by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).
He said such a bonding not only between governments but also defence establishments would prove to be an effective bulwark against spread of terrorism and other forms of conflict.
Observing that out of the 343 non-state armed groups operating in the world, 187 were operating in the Asian region, he said these groups recognised no borders and utilised latest global communication and transport networks to spread their message of death and destruction.
The common objective of these terror groups, he said was to disturb existing state apparatus, destabilise neighbouring states and create new states based on ethno-cultural identity.
“Most of these non-state players are not fighting for national identity, or territory and have abstract notions of carving out separate and unique identity of their own based on ethnicity, religious and tribal basis”, the minister told assembled security experts from the world over, including Pakistan and China.