China Hits A New Note

Portraying itself as a peacemaker, China said Thursday that Asian countries must treat each other as equals and rethink their security strategies to deal with a changing political and economic landscape and the failure of old policies.

"The old thinking on security, based on security alliances, national strength, deterrence and raw strength, instead of bringing security and peace to the world, only subjected it to dominance ... and even conflicts and wars in the past century," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the ASEAN Regional Forum, the area's largest security grouping.

Instead, countries should focus on common interests, respect diversity, strengthen coordination and avoid confrontation, he said.

China, already an economic behemoth and growing rapidly, has been trying to expand its clout in Asia and dispel suspicions about its motives. It has been hosting six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

The ASEAN Regional Forum brings together the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and 16 other countries, including China, Australia, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas.

In preliminary meetings this week, ASEAN foreign ministers focused much of the time on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, hoping to build momentum for continued progress after the shutdown last month of its atomic reactor.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, the group's new chairman, said the ministers discussed terrorism, maritime security, climate change, North Korea's nuclear program and the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The stability of Afghanistan is an urgent task for the international community," Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba said.

While North Korea's shutdown of its Yongbyon reactor has eased tensions across the region, Sakaba said much remains to be done to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

He said East Timor is at a critical point as its divided political elite haggle over the makeup of a new government.

"It is important that a new administration be immediately set up to undertake nation-building efforts," Sakaba told reporters. "It is important that the international community be engaged in the process."

The region faces continuing threats from terrorism and separatist insurgencies in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and elsewhere. A pact signed Wednesday by ASEAN and Australia pledged closer cooperation in combatting cross-border crimes including terrorism - a mutual concern because both regions have been targeted by al-Qaida-linked militants.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said some Southeast Asian countries have achieved success in recent years in fighting terrorism.

"The Indonesians, the Filipinos as well as the Malaysians and Singaporeans have been very successful in tracking down terrorists and in some cases they have killed them," he told reporters.

ASEAN is trying to bolster its collective clout as other countries seek better relations and trade in a region seen as full of potential investment and sales opportunities. Started 40 years ago as a bulwark against communism, the group is trying to evolve into an economic force capable of competing shoulder-to-shoulder with other blocs like the EU.

At the same time, it is trying to ensure that it maintains internal unity despite wide disparities among its members in economic development and political systems and doesn't lose control over the rapidly expanding ARF.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
By Paul Alexander