Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the opening ceremony of the fifth foreign ministers' meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Beijing, capital of China, April 28, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday proposed to Asian nations that they all explore a new approach to regional security cooperation, one that reflects Asian needs.
Xi made the proposal when addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
The CICA was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultation on security issues in Asia. It has 26 member countries and 12 countries and international organizations as observers.
At the CICA Summit in Shanghai in 2014, Xi proposed a vision on common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security in Asia and the establishment of a new regional security cooperation framework based on the CICA.
Two years have passed, and the president called on those present to follow through and make the vision of a security governance model with Asian features a reality.
ROAD TO COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
Asian countries all value mutual respect, consensus-building and accommodation of each other's comfort levels, said Xi, calling on Asian nations to uphold these approaches.
The president said that some parts of the continent are still plagued by turbulence and conflict caused by traditional and non-traditional security threats.
"A stable and developing Asia is a blessing, while a turbulent and declining Asia would bring nothing but trouble to the world," he said, noting that closer regional security cooperation is needed now more than ever.
"Asia lacks a comprehensive security architecture that covers the whole continent," said Gao Zugui, vice director of the Institute for International Strategic Studies of the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
He said the CICA offers a platform for Asian nations to discuss the possibility of establishing such a framework.
The leading security architecture in today's Asia is the U.S.-led alliance system, which has divided Asian countries into two camps: U.S. allies and non-U.S. allies, said Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies.
"It is a divided and zero-sum security framework," said Ruan.
Xi said at the CICA summit that one cannot live in the 21st century with outdated thinking, and no country should seek absolute security of itself at the expense of others.
Asia is home to diverse nations, religions and cultures, with varying social systems, development paths and economic development levels, he said.
"Our perceptions and concerns on security issues may not always be the same," he said, suggesting that Asian nations scale up exchanges and communication to create a fertile environment to establish regional security governance.
The president called on CICA members to keep on the path toward building an Asian community of common future, develop a new type of partnership featuring win-win cooperation, and deepen security cooperation and confidence-building.
He suggested CICA members use Asia's diversity to do more to explore exchanges and mutual learning.
CICA members should uphold mutual understanding and mutual accommodation and peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, he said.
Asia's security architecture should fit regional conditions, Xi said.
CICA participants spoke highly of Xi's propositions.
They agreed that parties concerned should make good use of the CICA mechanism, implement the vision on Asian security, increase dialogue and cooperation, and jointly cope with various security challenges, to safeguard world and regional peace and security.
