World Peace Discussed at Forum

By+staff+reporter+LI+YUAN

FOR over a century， from the first Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the PRC in 1949， China suffered profoundly under the aggression and bullying of big powers， and has hence come to appreciate independence and peace more than any other country. China will never inflict the agony it endured upon others，” stated State Councilor Yang Jiechi at the opening of the Third World Peace Forum.

Held in Beijing from June 21 to 22， the forum was jointly sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs （CPIFA）， and attended by seven former heads of state， nearly 50 foreign ambassadors to China and 110-plus chiefs of Chinese and foreign think tanks.

At the opening ceremony Mr. Yang delivered a speech elaborating on Chinas peaceful development. Chinas Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and Sun Jianguo， deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） later gave a lecture on Chinas diplomatic and security policies.

The only unofficial international conference dedicated to global security， the World Peace Forum offers a platform for scholars and officials to speak freely and frankly. This year， it has attracted more attention amid increas- ingly complicated situations and intensifying international conflicts.

Asian Security Concept

In recent years， discussions on China， in particular its diplomatic and security policies， have topped the bill at almost all international events. At the Fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia（CICA） in May Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China would work with all parties to advocate a common， comprehensive， cooperative and sustainable Asian security concept. Commentators predicted that this overture would open the door to unprecedented across-the-board security cooperation in Asia， a region with an increasingly fickle and complicated security situation.

“We must not find ourselves in a position where the body has progressed into the 21st century while the mind is stuck in a rut of Cold War thinking and zerosum games，” the Chinese president said. “Security must be universal， equal and inclusive. We cannot tolerate the security of only one or some countries while leaving the rest insecure； neither should we seek so-called absolute security at the expense of others.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was not at the opening ceremony of the World Peace Forum due to health reasons， but he sent a video message in which he proposed that the Asia-Pacific countries are now facing a common challenge – seeking a 21st century international order. He noted that regional mechanisms are still by far shaped by the views of regional powers and their pursuit of national interests， instead of those of all players involved.

Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov， former secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council， believes that a security consensus in the Asia-Pacific is critical for the future of the whole world. “The Asia-Pacific is the region most representative of the complexity and multifaceted-ness of international politics. If a consensus on crisis control and response to development challenges were reached in this area， its success would be replicated in other parts of the world. If we fail to do so in the Asia-Pacific， development in other regions will be affected and the 21st century will face instable， unpredictable and perilous prospects，”Ivanov said.

The gravity of international politics and economy is shifting from the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific， but as former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama cautioned， Asian security issues are profuse in uncertainties. “Defending national interests by military means will incur reprimands of other countries， and also inflict great suffering on the people. To stave off conflicts， we must adopt a new attitude and instill friendship， mutual trust and cooperation into inter-country relations，” Hatoyama said.

Stephen John Hadley， former assistant to the president for National Security Affairs of the U.S.， denounced the idea “Asians must handle Asian security problems on their own” in his speech at the forum. He said that it implies driving the U.S. out of the Asian security framework. This reflects a miscomprehension of the envisioned Asian security mechanism.

Mr. Yang pointed out in his speech， “The new constellation of Asian security places emphasis on both interregional cooperation and cooperation between Asian countries and those elsewhere as well as regional and international organizations. It welcomes all parties to play an active and constructive role in Asian security and cooperation.” He called for countries outside of Asia to fully take into account the rational concerns of their peers in the area， asserting positive not negative influences. Trans-regional mechanisms should be given full play as a bond in promoting exchanges and cooperation between Asia and the rest of the world.

At a panel discussion on building the new Asia-Pacific security framework， Richard Armitage， former U.S. deputy Secretary of State， said he was impressed by the message President Xi sent in his CICA speech – China is willing to communicate with the rest of the world， respects other countries sovereignty and territorial integrity， and does not interfere with their internal affairs， and respects their rights to independently choose their paths of development and their security interests. He called the speech a good manifesto of Chinese policies.

Mr. Armitage， however， has a question for the proposed Asian security concept： Do other Asian countries see eye to eye with China in this regard？ Huang Renwei， vice president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences， gave his reply in an interview with the media. “The new Asian security concept is an idea China has put forward in the new stage of development. Will big powers comply？ Will small countries follow suit？ It takes time. We need to outline to the world our peaceful development roadmap， and whats more， we need to put words into deeds.”

Former Japanese Ambassador to China Yuji Miyamoto pointed out that， in addition to penning down a theory， the central task of Asian security is to set out workable mechanisms and rules to put the idea into practice， hence establishing a new regional security order.

Former French PM Dominique de Villepin said that a multi-polar world is a balanced world， and China could be a crucial contributor to world stability. This， he explained， is not only due to Chinas size and clout， but also the principles and shared wishes it stands for such as harmony and mutual respect， essential factors in todays international situation.

Responsibilities of Big Powers

In his video message， Mr. Kissinger cautioned that throughout history rising powers and estab lished powers often ran into heated disagreements that turned out to be catastrophic to both sides， disrupted the international system， blocked progress of important issues and fed conflicts. He said that if this scenario were repeated between China and the U.S.， neither party would win， and whats more， other countries may exploit the discord for their own gains. He concluded that the Sino-U.S. relationship is crucial to the establishment of a new international order in the 21st century， in particular the AsiaPacific security mechanism.

Austrian Ambassador to China Dr. Irene Giner-Reichl agreed that a multilateral system based on cooperation of big powers opens more opportunities and choices for smaller countries. In cases of confrontation between big powers， smaller countries are forced to take sides， and consequently have no access to the economic and security benefits that each provided.

Several kingpin participants at the forum reiterated the weight of responsibility. Mr. de Villepin noted in his speech that the rule of responsibilities had to be established as the first step to realize peace. Similarly， Mr. Ivanov called on all countries to perform their due obligations in the face of the increasingly complicated international situation.

At the Second World Peace Forum held in June 2013， China for the first time declared its task to shoulder international security responsibilities as a major country by virtue of Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchaos speech entitled “United in Our Pursuit of Peace and Security.”

“The Chinese government is poised to take up international obligations commensurate with the countrys rising international status. In my view， these obligations are more in the security sector than about the economy. No country is obliged to help with the economic development of others， but it is different matter with security issues. A security guarantee provided by major countries is needed in many parts of the world to prevent wars，”commented Yan Xuetong， director of the Institute of Modern International Relations， Tsinghua University. Russian scholar Sergey Aleksandrovich Karaganov expounded that the primary international obligation of a major country is to provide leadership in such realms as environmental conservation and Internet security， while French Ambassador to China Sylvie Bermann sees the obligations of major countries as multi-faceted， including economic development， military strength and soft power， such as cultural influence.

Solution to Maritime Disputes

At a panel discussion on international cooperation for maritime security， Dr. Arvind Gupta， director general of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysises （IDSA） of India， named a few of the challenges to maritime security – climate change， terrorism， human and drug trafficking， piracy and illegal fishing. He also cited territorial disputes， a ramification of geopolitics， as a threat to peaceful development of the international society.

A decade ago China and 10 ASEAN members signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in which they agreed to solve maritime disputes through peaceful means， to exercise restraint and to abstain from any actions that may further complicate or escalate the situation. The signatories expressed the wish to reach a consensus on a code of conduct in the South China Sea to promote regional peace and stability.

Former Malaysian PM Datuk Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi believed that shelving disputes to give way to cooperation was the best solution to the South China Sea issue and cited ASEAN Plus Three cooperation – the 10 Southeast Asian nations plus China， Japan and South Korea – as of great significance to peace in East Asia.

Asked whether the Kuril Islands dispute， known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan， could be a lesson in the South China Sea issue， Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov said， “This is still a sticking point between Russia and Japan. At first all our negotiations with Japan evolved around territory， depriving us of the chance of talks over other issues， such as economy and culture. After 10 years of negotiations， I cant see any hope of a solution. We， therefore， should advance bilateral ties in other fields and try to foster a more benign environment by other means， such as trusting the following generation to come up with a solution.”

Such was the attitude of Chinese and Japanese leaders when the two countries resumed full diplomatic relations in 1972. “We need to remember and learn from the past，” said Yukio Hatoyama. “Japanese politicians should recognize historical facts and prevent the spat over the Diaoyu Islands from spawning bigger conflicts or escalating into military clashes. I think both parties should take appropriate approaches.”

Security Appeals of Smaller Countries

Mr. de Villepin stressed the strength of emerging markets. He said that a multi-polarized world is unfolding as society enters the 21st century. The predominance of one single big power in international affairs is a thing of the past， and a number of emerging market countries， including China， Brazil and India， are taking center stage. They have shown higher efficiency on issues such as construction of multilateral mechanisms， and proved better representation and legitimacy. Response to unconventional security issues， such as stability on the international financial market and global warming， also need to pool the strengths of the whole international community， including emerging market countries， Mr. de Villepin said.

One feature that sets the World Peace Forum apart from other similar international events such as the Munich Security Conference and the Asian Security Summit is the larger number of participants from developing countries， and greater attention to the security appeals of medium-sized and small countries.

As Bola Akinterinwa， head of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs， said in his speech at the forum， the current security mechanisms primarily address the security issues of developed countries， but those directly effecting developing countries also deserve broad attention. No rules or norms can be universally accepted if they are not widely discussed under effective and democratic mechanisms.

Surinamese Ambassador to China Lloyd Lucien Pinas shared the view that dialogue and diplomatic measures， rather than military force， are now the common practice in pursuing security and peace. Only by sharing resources and embracing the principles of equality and inclusiveness can countries eradicate misunderstandings and enhance cooperation and development.