World leaders must defy terrorism fear at Paris climate change talks: Obama

Acts of terrorism will not stop the world from taking urgent action on global climate change at talks in Paris next month, U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday.

The United States and its coalition allies would ultimately destroy the Islamic State (IS), but the world should not show fear of terrorism, Obama said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"I think it is absolutely vital for every country, every leader to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers isn't going to stop the world from doing vital business and that Paris -- one of the most beautiful, enticing cities in the world -- is not going to be cowed by the violent, demented actions of a few," said Obama.

"We do not succumb to fear -- that's the primary power these terrorists have over us. They cannot strike a mortal blow against the United States or against France or against a country like Malaysia, but they can make people fearful and that's understandable," he said.

"We fight them and we beat them; we don't change our institutions and our culture and our values because of them."

Much of the discussion at the recent G20 and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) talks, as well as at ASEAN, had been on the need for a strong Paris deal on climate change.

Obama said he was optimistic that they could get a strong deal as 160 countries and regions, accounting for about 90 percent of the world's emitters, had put forward their targets for how they can reduce emissions.

The bilateral agreement between the United States and China in November last year had disarmed many of the critics of a global climate deal in the United States.

"Sometimes back home, critics will argue there's no point in us getting our house in order when it comes to climate change because other countries won't do anything and it will just mean we're in a less competitive position," he said.

"Well, I met with President Xi (Jinping) and China signed on to an aggressive commitment that took a major argument away from those critics."

The United States had made great progress on deepening engagement with the Asia-Pacific region during the recent talks of the G20, APEC and ASEAN, he said.

"The Asia-Pacific is absolutely critical to promoting security, prosperity and human dignity around the world. That's why I've devoted so much of my foreign policy to deepening America's engagement with this region," he said.

To make sure the engagement continued, he had invited the leaders of all 10 ASEAN states to visit the United States next year and all had accepted.

The United States was also boosting support for Philippine maritime capabilities and other regional partners.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Endit