By showing up to regional meetings, world leaders can send a powerful message that terrorists won't win, Trade Minister Andrew Robb says.
Security is being tightened in Manila where Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and US President Barack Obama will join the leaders of China, Japan, Canada and 16 others at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Conference summit from Tuesday.
Mr Robb and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop are attending a meeting of counterparts a day earlier to discuss trade and investment.
The trade minister said APEC was an important and meaningful way for global leaders to show life was not going to stop because of the sickening actions of the "madmen thugs" behind the Paris attacks.
"We are demonstrating to the world with this event that you only get on when you get together," he told reporters in Manila on Sunday night.
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"We are going to get on with life - they are not going to destroy our freedoms, they are not going to beat us and this is a great symbolic way of doing that for a start."
Mr Robb said countering terrorism would be among the hot-button issues during meetings but will not dominate.
Instead he wants to focus on economic matters such as progressing a 2012 APEC pledge to cut tariffs on dozens of renewable energy products by the end of the year and the mammoth Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.
Ms Bishop will meet newly appointed Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion and is likely to see Indonesian counterpart and "text buddy" Retno Marsudi, as well as discussing issues around women's empowerment and combating online child abuse.
On Tuesday Mr Turnbull and Mr Obama will hold their first bilateral meeting where talks around Syria and countering Islamic State are likely to dominate.
