The Australian argues in its editorial titled Asia-Pacific must stand against jihadist threat that regional co-operation and shared political will can defeat the jihadist menace.
We should not underestimate the threat that Islamic State and its combat group pose to our region. But nor should we underestimate our capacity to overcome its brutal inhumanity with shared political will and regional co-operation.
The larger strategic aim of Islamic State is to disrupt multilateral relations and render Muslim countries vulnerable to jihadism by weakening them economically as well as politically and militarily.
But the alliances between Australia and our neighbours in Southeast Asia will not be weakened by Islamic State or its jihadist affiliates. On the contrary, we are strengthening trade relations in the region through bilateral free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreements.
We welcome neighbours from all faiths on to our shores as we are welcomed on to theirs. Our friendships, forged by decades of sometimes heated political exchange, grow stronger.
It is this strengthening of regional ties between Australia, Indonesia and our neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia that Islamic State seeks to destroy. Its this renewed regional co-operation and shared political will that can defeat the jihadist menace.
