'Cold war thinking' has no place in Asia

BEIJING - Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin on Sunday urged Asian countries to discard their "cold war mentality" when handling sensitive regional issues, saying that "exclusive security partnerships" fall short in terms of coping with the current complex regional situation.

His words came in the wake of China's occasionally tense relations with its neighbors in Asia last year, which were further complicated by Washington's strategic shift in the Asia-Pacific region.

Asia is generally stable and peaceful, yet thorny issues such as maritime and energy security still remain. "To address emerging problems, relevant sides have to firstly strengthen mutual trust in this diverse and complex region," he said.