Editor's Pick:

Global security needs combined approach

By Miwa Hirono (China Daily) Updated: 2011-05-25 08:05

As we witness new forms of conflict, the nature of global security is changing. Intra-state conflicts and crises in the Middle East and Africa, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and terrorist attacks around the world - collectively known as non-traditional security issues - represent increasingly imminent threats to peace and stability in our neighboring regions, and in turn, to our political and economic activities.

Instability in the resource-rich regions of the Middle East and Africa is likely to disrupt political and economic operations around the world. The ongoing conflict in Libya is a case in point. Chinese and European workers have been forced to flee the country, leading to a huge loss of business.

Non-traditional security issues are invariably global problems, beyond the capacity of any single country to solve, and tackling them requires in-depth international cooperation between multiple countries and their military forces.

China and Europe have vastly different foreign policy stances on major global security issues. Ideological rifts have been further exposed through the international community's response to the Libyan crisis.

Indeed, how to achieve the right balance between the protection of civilians and the principle of the minimum use of force in peace operations is one of the central questions dividing China and Europe.

Critics might question how China and Europe can cooperate when they have divergent international political priorities. However, both China and European countries share a fundamental interest in maintaining regional stability. The challenges are so great that cooperation cannot be hampered by any difference in principles.

The United Kingdom has been nurturing military relations with China over the last decade. Key Chinese and UK policy documents suggest there is real potential for the expansion of military cooperation between the two countries.

My interviews and meetings with policymakers and military leaders of both countries confirm that both sides are keen to expand cooperation. This is not only for potential practical benefit, but also for political benefit. The two states share the view that military cooperation on non-traditional security issues may strengthen mutual trust and build confidence.

China and some European countries have already engaged in gestures of friendship such as high-level visits, military student exchanges, and naval port calls, on which practical cooperation programs can be built.

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page