It is heartening to see the international community is showing strong solidarity in condemning the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

On Wednesday night, three bomb blasts killed 17 people in the Indian commercial capital. The Indian authorities believe the blasts to be "a coordinated attack by terrorists". Members of the international community are throwing their weight behind the Indian government, which is trying to hunt down the perpetrators.

As a close neighbor of India, China has condemned the atrocity and gives full support to Indian efforts to combat terrorism. It hopes the country will soon emerge from the shadow of the tragedy and reap results in its fight against terrorism.

A country with a large population and a fast growing economy, which has impressed the world in recent years, India needs a stable environment to pursue its domestic agenda and contribute to regional peace and stability. The country, together with other emerging economies, is shoring up the global economic recovery.

The fact that a local wholesale gold market and a district housing diamond traders and jewelry shops in Mumbai were the targets of the blasts indicates the perpetrators intended to kill and wound as many people as possible. There can be no justification for such heinous crimes targeting the innocent.

The terrorists' cold-bloodedness is beyond tolerance, but their open disregard for human life will not intimidate India or the rest of the world. Instead, it will unite the world in the fight against terror.

The international community should be mindful of the fact that the road to ridding the world of terrorism remains long and arduous. It will take strong political commitments, as well as substantive international cooperation to uproot the evil of terrorism.

What happened in Mumbai is a timely reminder that the apparatus of terrorism is still alive and active. It may strike at any time, bringing more losses to our societies.

After the United States hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden in May, the world was immersed in a success that seemed to constitute a heavy blow to international terrorists and extremists.

However, the Mumbai attack has sent a clear warning that the world is by no means a safer place in the post-bin Laden era. Analysts and observers have pointed out that terrorist groups operating in many parts of the world have resorted to reshuffling and localization in order to continue their campaigns of terror.

Such moves mean the world must remain vigilant. The international community must rise to these new challenges so that tragedies such as the Mumbai attacks will not be repeated.

(China Daily 07/15/2011 page8)