China proposes new security forum

China proposes new security forum

Cindy Sui, Agence France-Presse, Phnom Penh

China proposed on Wednesday the creation of a security forum involving military personnel from Asia-Pacific countries, saying it would aim at giving equal attention to the security concerns of each country involved.

The move proposed to ministers and officials meeting here for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) appears to be an attempt at countering the United States' growing pursuit of counter- terrorism and other security-related pacts with ASEAN.

China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told the annual ARF meeting in Phnom Penh that China wanted increased participation by defense officials in ARF via the creation of a "Security Policy Conference" under the ARF umbrella.

"This will greatly enhance mutual trust among countries and contribute to regional peace and stability," Li told the 23- member ARF.

"In this context, China suggests that the ARF could convene a Security Policy Conference at an appropriate time to be attended mainly by military personnel."

No date was suggested on when such a gathering -- which would prop up China's goal of balancing U.S. dominance in world affairs -- should be held.

The proposal comes as Washington aggressively pushes for ASEAN countries to back its policies on troubling issues such as North Korea, Myanmar and counterterrorism.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue later told reporters that the proposal formed part of a new security concept China has been promoting for years.

Taking a veiled swipe at the U.S.'s pursuit of national security, Zhang charged that some countries were focusing only on their security interests and the new concept would instead give play to everyone's concerns.

"An interesting point of this security concept is guaranteeing one's own security interests through everyone's common security," Zhang said.

"We shouldn't try to achieve absolute security for oneself and threaten other parties' security. That actually doesn't necessarily guarantee one's own security."

U.S. plans to build a missile defense system have particularly irked China, which sees it as potentially provoking a global arms race.

Beijing fears such a system could be expanded to shield its archrival Taiwan, for whom Washington already provides military support.

That would seriously challenge China's ability to reunite with the island, which Beijing insists must happen eventually, by force if necessary, despite the fact Taiwan separated from the mainland at the end of a civil war in 1949.

Beijing has also insisted its ally North Korea has legitimate security concerns, such as being attacked by the United States, and that those concerns should be addressed as well as Washington's demands that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons program.

Its proposed new conference would give all countries an opportunity to present their concerns and thereby reduce tensions through dialog, Zhang said.

China said it was also necessary to have a platform to discuss security issues given increasing non-traditional security threats such as terrorism.

Li urged ARF members to "eliminate" the threat of terrorists and religious extremists, and reiterated China's claims that people fighting for independence in certain countries also should be targeted.

"Local separatist forces in some countries are equally detrimental to stability. China firmly supports other countries in this region in their endeavors to safeguard national unification and combat separatism," Li said.

China wants other countries' support in its crackdown against ethnic Uighur Muslim separatists who have pushed for an independent state in its western Xinjiang region.