For the second consecutive year, the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum was dominated by terrorism. The recent attacks against Indonesia and Russia hammered home the fact that no country is safe from this scourge. To their credit, the world leaders, assembling in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, acknowledged the ties between prosperity and security. The two are deeply intertwined: Indeed, there can be no security without shared prosperity. Now, as always, the task is to act upon that common-sense proposition.
APEC leaders were unequivocal in their statements. They condemned "in the strongest terms recent terrorist acts in the APEC region" and reaffirmed "our determination to enhance cooperation in countering and responding to terrorism." Terrorism is, they declared, "a profound threat to our vision."
They did not stop with vague promises. The summit declaration outlined concrete steps to protect and expedite the movement of goods, people and information. They include measures to increase cargo security, enhance maritime and aviation safety, and implement a passenger identification and notification system. The declaration also promised to step up efforts to block terrorist financing and enhance cyber-security.