Speech at the High-level Dialogue

By Yu Hongjun,CPAPD Vice President

The commemoration of 2014 International Day of Peace,themed with"A More Secure Asia Aspired by People"is highly relevant.To begin with,I would like to share 3 points on Asian security with you.

Firstly,problems in the realm of traditional security are worrying.Outdated security perspectives and security systemic structures left by the cold war are threatening Asian peace and development,yet some countries still believe in backward security approaches including military alliance,threat of force and power politics.Unsettled historic issues like the legacy of WW Ⅱ and the cold war,as well as territorial and maritime disputes are still hovering around,while the Korean Peninsula is under confrontation.Civil wars are ongoing in countries like Iraq and Syria,while regional hot-spot issues and difficulties like the Palestine-Israel conflict are emerging.

Secondly,non-traditional security is faced with a severe situation.With the development of globalization,non-traditional security threats including economic security,energy security,food security,natural disasters,public health,cyber security,terrorism and drug crimes are growing all the more acute,and becoming new threats for Asia.

Thirdly,Asian people have become the biggest victim of all security threats.On the one hand,civilians are the major victim of war.More than 500,000 people are killed or injured during the Afghanistan war.Hundreds of thousands of people are killed and several millions of people are displaced due to the Iraq war.Nearly 200,000 people lost their lives or got injured because of the Syrian civil war.On the other hand,non-traditional security threats are severely blocking the development of Asian countries.In recent years,numerous lives and treasures are wiped out due to natural disasters and diseases in several Asian countries.Eight out of 10 countries in the world that were most heavily attacked by terrorism in the last 2 years are in Asia.More than half of almost 10,000 terror attacks around the globe in 2013 were in Iraq,Pakistan and Afghanistan.Several terror attacks have also happened to China,which significantly threatens national security and social stability.

The destiny of Asia is in the hands of Asian people,and the security of Asia is to be maintained by Asian people.Now I would like to share with you 5 points of view on building a more secure Asia based on the theme of our activities:

Firstly,we should respect differences,champion fairness and inclusiveness,and pursue common security and universal security.The differences and diversity among Asian countries are distinctive,and the joint splendor of different civilizations facilitate an Asia full of vigor,vitality and potential.Only mutual respect and equal treatment among countries can help reduce conflicts and frictions,thus realize peace and security.Security should be universal and equal,and we can never accept a situation that only some countries are secure while the rest is not.China is ready to work with other Asian countries to respect and guarantee the security of every country and strive to jointly build Asian community of common security.

Secondly,we should promote the establishment of regional security architecture in a coordinated way throughvarious channels with comprehensive policies.As the Chinese adage goes,"a fire burns high when everybody adds fuel to it".Asian security issues are extremely complex,since no country can deal with them by itself or avoid their effects,there is clearly a bigger need for countries to cooperate to face security challenges.However,the Asian security cooperation mechanism is yet to be improved,the security cooperation is yet to be deepened,and the efforts of relevant countries are yet to be integrated to address security issues.We should make full use of current regional security and dialogue cooperation mechanism and try to improve it,and explore to promote the establishment of a Northeastern Asian regional security cooperation mechanism.We should step up exchanges and communication among various cooperation mechanisms so as to form a strong force to maintain regional security.China is willing to work with other Asian countries to defend traditional and non-traditional security in a coordinated fashion,especially invest more efforts to address and jointly fight against the"Three Evils",and nourish the Asian community of responsibility with patience.

Thirdly,we should strengthen dialogue,enhance mutual trust and carefully cherish the Asian common community of destiny.In Asia,the cold-war mentality has not been wiped out yet and there are still many hot-spot and sensitive issues,thus it is not easy to construct mutual trust among countries and realize regional security order;that being said,the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence initiated in the 1950s by China,India and Myanmar emerge as basic principles guiding international relations.Over the years,Asian countries have been striving to develop and complete many security dialogue mechanisms on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation.In the future,Asian countries shall focus on common security interests of each other and resolve disputes beginning with less sensitive ones with Oriental wisdom through peaceful means,dialogue and cooperation,so as to promote harmony and jointly nurture Asian common community of destiny.

Fourthly,we should enhance development and cooperation in order to consolidate the basis of Asian security.The tree of peace will never grow in barren land.For many Asian countries,security is the most tremendous development.At present,Asian economic volume accounts for a third of the world,the regional integration keeps growing faster,and the aggregate trade volume within Asia is 50%more than that of Asian countries combined.The fact that Asian countries are concentrated on developing economy has led to closer and closer ties of interests among them,thus the hot-spot issues in this region are generally under control.China strives to build friendship and partnership with its neighbors and practices the principle of boosting amity,sincerity,mutual benefit and inclusiveness.China actively advances Silk Road economic belt and other major regional cooperation initiatives,and deeply engages in regional cooperation process.China welcomes people from more countries to take the opportunity of its development so as to jointly establish the community of common interests for Asian people.

Fifthly,mutual respect and sound interaction among major countries is the fundamental guarantee to maintain Asian security.The interests of major countries are relatively concentrated in Asia,and their interaction deeply affects regional peace and security.Major countries should abandon the cold-war mentality,regard the strategic plans of other countries objectively and rationally,respect the interests and concerns of each other,and deal with international challenges through cooperation.This is the expectation of regional countries and the responsibility of major countries.China will continue to carry forward the establishment of a new model of major-country relations,and promote Asia to build the architecture for security and sustained development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A stable Asia is a blessing for world peace,and a prosperous Asia is a contribution to world development.The Chinese people are willing to treat other Asian people equally and live with them peacefully,so as to work for the realization of the Asian Dream of enduring peace and common development.Thank you.