Despite tensions, Asia-Pacific nations close ranks against terrorism

U.S. President Barack Obama (front row 3rd R) shakes hands with Peru's President Ollanta Humala as they wait for a group family photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila, Philippines, November 19, 2015. Pictured in the second row (L-R): Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In the front row (L-R): Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Brunei's Sultan Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Philippines President Benigno Aquino, Peru's President Ollanta Humala, Vietnam's President Truong Tan Sang, U.S. President Barack Obama, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Taiwan envoy Vincent Siew. REUTERS/Bullit Marquez/Pool

MANILA (Reuters) - Pacific-rim nations closed ranks against terrorism on Thursday at the end of a summit that was darkened by last week's attacks in Paris, but still Washington and Moscow sparred over how to deal with Syria and the Islamic State fighters sheltering there.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group's 21 leaders vowed to prevent terrorism from undermining values that underpin their economies, and said there was a need for greater international cooperation to fight the scourge.