By Wang Xuan
The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum kicked off on Friday at the Beijing International Convention Center. The participants engaged in in-depth discussions around the theme Promoting Peace for a Shared Future.
Looking around the Asia-Pacific today, it is a basic reality that the interests and futures of all parties are closely entwined. Peaceful development and win-win cooperation are the common aspirations of the people in the region. At the first plenary session of the forum, which focused on Security Cooperation and Asia-Pacific Prosperity and Stability, participants generally agreed that all members of the Asia-Pacific family should cherish the hard-won peace and stability, promote the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security vision, make continuous efforts to build consensus for cooperation and development, and work together for a Asia-Pacific of lasting peace and common prosperity.
To grasp the security situation in the Asia-Pacific, it is essential to understand the historical context in which different parties find themselves and to recognize the changes in the world, the times, and history. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Both geopolitical tensions and the evolving economic landscape have exerted negative impacts on the peace development environment and security cooperation structure of the Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, the rapid advancement of science and technology and the flourishing regional cooperation are bringing multiple development opportunities.
"The Asia-Pacific is facing both opportunities and challenges." Nie Songlai, a researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, holds that to grasp the trend of security situation in the Asia-Pacific, we need to look at it from a comprehensive, objective, and dialectical perspective. We should neither overly emphasize conflicts and contradictions nor ignore existing problems. He believes that the growth of peaceful forces in the Asia-Pacific currently exceeds the growth of factors that undermine security.
General Phan Van Giang, Vietnamese Defence Minister, said that although there may be some friction between regional cooperation mechanisms, it is more important to effectively strengthen cooperation and promote regional peace and stability.
Over the past few decades, the Asia-Pacific has entered a fast track of development and a key prerequisite for this has been the maintenance of a peaceful and stable environment in the region. The participants agreed that bloc confrontation cannot solve any problem and that attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds are bound to fail. Countries in the Asia-Pacific should cherish the insights gained from historical experiences, adhere to the correct direction, strive for peace and take responsibility for it.
Facing the flourishing regional integration process, outdated security concepts of zero-sum games and unilateralism are inappropriate and get no support. The Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China advocates a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security vision and a new path to security featuring dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum. Highlighting the spirit of common security, where interests, futures, and destinies are interconnected, the security concept has gained widespread recognition from the participants.
In recent years, China has played an increasingly important role in maintaining peace and security. Last year, China facilitated the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and set off a "wave of reconciliation" across the Middle East. This year, Palestinian factions gathered in Beijing for reconciliation talks.
Peace is the foundation of development, and security is the guarantee of well-being. Former Sri Lankan Navy Commander Piyal De Silva said that the GSI helps all parties better understand peace. Currently, many parts of the world are still experiencing misfortunes and disasters due to the lack of peace and security. The proposal of the GSI holds significant practical importance for advancing regional and global security governance and creating a favorable environment for development.
The participants agreed that the destiny of the Asia-Pacific should be jointly controlled by countries in the region and the security of the region should be maintained through their concerted efforts. All countries should continue to strengthen equal dialogue and cooperation and build mutual trust and consensus. Focusing on addressing non-traditional security threats, they should improve the regional security architecture and solidify the foundation for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
"In the face of a volatile and intertwined international and regional situation, all parties need to work closely together to discuss global security strategies and explore solutions for enduring peace and stability." Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun expressed that China is ready to work with all parties to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state, continue close communication and learn from each other. China is willing to consolidate and develop existing cooperation outcomes and elevate military cooperation to a new height, thus making greater contributions to the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
