China, ASEAN police team up to fight terrorism

NANNING - Police in China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are teaming up to fight terrorism and transnational crimes, said sources attending a security forum here Saturday.

Fighting terrorism was one of the major topics at the two-day forum, which closed Saturday in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said Li Wei, vice minister of public security in China.

He said it is crucial for police authorities in China and ASEAN to work together to maintain regional security.

Terrorist attacks targeting China and ASEAN have risen from 146 in 2003 to 575 in 2012, according to the Global Terrorism Database.

"It's noteworthy that terrorists nowadays are not just targeting police and government," said Zhu Lin, associate professor with the institute of China's armed police forces. "Many attacks in recent years have targeted ordinary people, foreign tourists included."

The wide use of information technology has also made it easy for terrorists and other transnational criminals to hijack information without revealing their own identities, said Zhu.

"It's therefore crucial to set up long-term cooperation mechanisms. By sharing information and increasing exchanges, it will enable police to stop terrorism and other crimes," Zhu said.

More than 120 representatives from China and the 10 ASEAN members attended the forum.