The recent killings of two Japanese by Islamic State militants are among the telling signs of an increased terror threat in the Asia-Pacific that puts the world's most populous region and leading growth engine at "elevated risk," the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum said on Friday.
"We continue to see a rise in the spread of violent extremism worldwide," Oscar Valenzuela, the new chairman of a working group that helps APEC's 21 members coordinate on counterterrorism, told reporters after a three-day meeting at Subic Bay in Ologapo, the Philippines.
"The death of two Japanese hostages at the hands of radicals and the pipeline of foreign funding and recruits to advance the terrorist agenda of such groups are signals of an increased threat across the Asia-Pacific," he said.