New Delhi, July 24 -- India emphasised a "zero tolerance" approach towards tackling terrorism at a meeting of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in the Philippines on Thursday, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar there should be no doubt that "acts of terrorism will have consequences". Jaishankar acknowledged the importance of the ARF, a 27-member regional security platform centred around the Asean grouping, in discussing political and security issues in the Indo-Pacific, especially in these complex times. "There must be zero tolerance for terrorism. Nor should there be any doubt that acts of terrorism will have consequences," Jaishankar said on social media after addressing the ARF ministerial meeting in Manila. "We should prioritise choking the financial resources that fuel [terrorism]. India co-chairs the EWG [experts working group] with Malaysia in ADMM+ [Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus], taking the lead in producing a compendium of best practices," he said. The ARF, which includes the Asean member states and China, the European Union, Russia and the US, fosters consultation on political and security issues and contributes to confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.Against the backdrop of strikes on merchant vessels in the Russia-Ukraine and West Asia conflicts, Jaishankar said such attacks on maritime shipping and civilian infrastructure are "unacceptable", and commerce through international waterways should remain safe. He stressed the need for the world community to be on guard against those who undermine non-proliferation and disarmament, and backed a responsible and human-centric approach on AI and cooperation on cybercrimes and other issues....