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Asian defense ministers say cooperation is path forward
Source: Xinhua |
June 4, 2011, Saturday
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Online Edition
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DEFENSE ministers from Asia- Pacific countries gathering at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore said dialogue and cooperation, not confrontation, should be the way ahead.
Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said today that the region must continue to build habits of dialogue which help countries withstand and resolve serious tensions if and when they arise.
Practical military and defense cooperation -- in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping training and operations, exercises and training and maritime security -- will build habits of mutual respect, trust and cooperation amongst the militaries, he said.
Other defense and military officials also said dialogues are the building blocks for regional security, now that countries across the world are now more closely linked than ever before.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, or the 10th Asia Security Summit hosted by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, gathers defense ministers and senior military officials from 27 countries and regions this year, making it an important forum for security dialogues.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, as the keynote speaker, said he believed the way ahead must be built on co-operation and not on confrontation and called on leaders and countries at the dialogue to play their part.
Najib said the world economies are becoming more and more integrated and interdependent, and the production processes are much more dispersed across borders.
"It no longer makes sense for global powers to go to war: they simply have too much to lose," he said.
The Malaysian prime minister also said that the world should see the rise of China as a cause for optimism rather than concern.
"China may be expanding -- it has enjoyed spectacular economic growth of 9.5 percent a year for the last 20 years -- but it is not going to dominate the globe in the way the biggest economic forces of the past once did," he said. "In the late 1940s the United States not only had the largest GDP of any nation, it also accounted for more than half of the world's wealth."
As for China, even when it, as predicted, becomes the world's largest economy in the world in around 30 years, it is likely to account for less than a quarter of the global GDP, he said.
He also dismissed China's growing military capacity as a cause for undue alarm, citing his experience with China.
"In Malaysia we know well that China's first commitment is to peace," he said.
Even the United States Secretary for Defense Robert Gates, who said the United States is improving its military presence in Asia, agreed that dialogue is important.
Gates reassured allies in the Asia Pacific today that it will maintain and enhance its strong presence in the region. The US Navy and Air Force are working together to develop a new concept of operations called Air-Sea Battle, he said.
He said the US military is going to be increasing its port calls, naval engagements, and multilateral training efforts with multiple countries throughout the region in the coming years.
Nevertheless, he reiterated the principle of resolving conflict without the use of force and also acknowledged that Cold War turbulence has given way to new partnerships and cooperation in Asia.
He said that the United States and China are working together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship, and that the military-to-military ties have steadily improved in recent months.
As defense minister, he has made it a priority to build military-to-military ties, and there is now an important dialogue mechanism, he said.
Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said today that the region must continue to build habits of dialogue which help countries withstand and resolve serious tensions if and when they arise.
Practical military and defense cooperation -- in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping training and operations, exercises and training and maritime security -- will build habits of mutual respect, trust and cooperation amongst the militaries, he said.
Other defense and military officials also said dialogues are the building blocks for regional security, now that countries across the world are now more closely linked than ever before.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, or the 10th Asia Security Summit hosted by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, gathers defense ministers and senior military officials from 27 countries and regions this year, making it an important forum for security dialogues.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, as the keynote speaker, said he believed the way ahead must be built on co-operation and not on confrontation and called on leaders and countries at the dialogue to play their part.
Najib said the world economies are becoming more and more integrated and interdependent, and the production processes are much more dispersed across borders.
"It no longer makes sense for global powers to go to war: they simply have too much to lose," he said.
The Malaysian prime minister also said that the world should see the rise of China as a cause for optimism rather than concern.
"China may be expanding -- it has enjoyed spectacular economic growth of 9.5 percent a year for the last 20 years -- but it is not going to dominate the globe in the way the biggest economic forces of the past once did," he said. "In the late 1940s the United States not only had the largest GDP of any nation, it also accounted for more than half of the world's wealth."
As for China, even when it, as predicted, becomes the world's largest economy in the world in around 30 years, it is likely to account for less than a quarter of the global GDP, he said.
He also dismissed China's growing military capacity as a cause for undue alarm, citing his experience with China.
"In Malaysia we know well that China's first commitment is to peace," he said.
Even the United States Secretary for Defense Robert Gates, who said the United States is improving its military presence in Asia, agreed that dialogue is important.
Gates reassured allies in the Asia Pacific today that it will maintain and enhance its strong presence in the region. The US Navy and Air Force are working together to develop a new concept of operations called Air-Sea Battle, he said.
He said the US military is going to be increasing its port calls, naval engagements, and multilateral training efforts with multiple countries throughout the region in the coming years.
Nevertheless, he reiterated the principle of resolving conflict without the use of force and also acknowledged that Cold War turbulence has given way to new partnerships and cooperation in Asia.
He said that the United States and China are working together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship, and that the military-to-military ties have steadily improved in recent months.
As defense minister, he has made it a priority to build military-to-military ties, and there is now an important dialogue mechanism, he said.
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