国际英语资讯:ASEAN defense ministers agree to step up counter-terrorism measures_时事

国际英语资讯:ASEAN defense ministers agree to step up counter-terrorism measures

CLARK, the Philippines, Oct. 23 -- The defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations agreed on Monday to step up counter-terrorism measures to prevent pro-Islamic State (IS) militant groups from gaining a stronghold in Southeast Asia.

At the end of their annual security meeting, the ASEAN ministers stressed the need to strongly address the "threat of radicalism" by making the peoples of the ASEAN aware of the perils of violent extremism.

In a joint declaration issued at the end of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), the ASEAN ministers emphasized the need "to enhance regional cooperation through intelligence and information sharing, increasing surveillance, and promoting awareness among the public about the threat of radicalism."

国际英语资讯:ASEAN defense ministers agree to step up counter-terrorism measures1

They also vowed to collectively combat terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations in accordance with the ASEAN Convention on Counterterrorism and ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counterterrorism as well as identify ways to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation among ASEAN defense establishments."

The ministers also expressed "full support for the Philippines' efforts to address the security and humanitarian situation" in the southern Philippine city of Marawi where government security forces and pro-Islamic State (IS) fighters were locked in a fierce five-month urban warfare that killed nearly 1,200.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced in a press conference on Monday the end of"all combat operations" in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, saying the city has been cleared of the last terrorist.