Asia wants peace and prosperity, not confrontation

At the recent 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue, a Chinese People's Liberation Army expert delegation shared China's perspectives on global dynamics and regional security. Their insights resonated with defense officials and academics alike. Most Asian countries desire for regional peace through dialogue and consultation, and expect China to be an anchor of stability in a turbulent world.

During their meeting last month, the heads of state of China and the United States agreed to build a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability, providing strategic guidance for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond. This agreement has been welcomed by people of both countries and the global community. Its positive impact was evident at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech at the dialogue marked a shift from last year. While he continued to urge regional allies and partners to increase defense spending, Hegseth adopted a cautious tone on China-US ties and made no mention of the Taiwan region whatsoever in the speech.

In response, the head of the Chinese delegation emphasized that strategic stability underpins global security, and the Asia-Pacific should not become an arena for geopolitical rivalry. No country should pursue absolute security at the expense of others because this approach ultimately leaves everyone vulnerable. China and the US, in particular, must meet halfway, demonstrate strategic resolve through concrete actions, and foster healthy, stable and sustainable relations between the two countries and between the Chinese and the US military.

Conversations with defense officials from various countries revealed a widespread expectation for China and the US to uphold strategic stability and transform their leaders' consensus into tangible results.

Singaporean Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing expressed satisfaction with the positive outcome of the China-US summit. In fact, the ripple effects generated by the sound China-US engagement helped foster a less confrontational atmosphere at the dialogue, where most speakers voiced concerns over global and regional security risks, and called for proactive cooperation among major countries to ensure regional security, stability and prosperity.

However, there were a few discordant notes as well. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi defended Japan's military buildup and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr stirred tensions over the South China Sea.

At a time when the "new militarism" poses mounting threats to regional security, Japanese delegates seized on Washington's call for allies to shoulder greater defense burdens, and depicted Japan as an active contributor to defense cooperation.

Koizumi attempted to put a spin on Japan's militaristic expansion by saying it should not be "labeled 'new militarism'". But he evaded questions about Japan's historical accountability and whether the country would apologize for its aggression during World War II.

Teodoro, meanwhile, portrayed the Philippines as a "victim", but dodged questions about Manila saying one thing and doing another over the South China Sea issue, even hinting at pulling out of negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Japan and the Philippines have ramped up coordination over the South China Sea and East China Sea issues. They recently issued a joint statement announcing their decision to launch "formal negotiations to delimit the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries". Such moves create confrontations and stoke tensions. They risk destabilizing the region and eroding the regional cooperation mechanism with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the center.

Any attempt to transplant extra-regional bloc confrontation into the Asia-Pacific runs counter to the shared aspiration of regional countries for peace, development and cooperation. Eng Kok Thay, a secretary of state of Cambodia's Council of Ministers, said Japan's accelerating military buildup deserves scrutiny, while a Malaysian think tank expert cautioned that ganging up under the pretext of "strengthening security" will heighten security anxieties in the region.

Amid challenges from hegemonism and the threat of militarism, it is essential to recognize that Asia's security should be safeguarded by Asian countries, not by others. The Asian security model, which emphasizes sharing weal and woe, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and prioritizing dialogue and consultation, was put forward at the Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries in April 2025.

The model is a distillation of Asia's decades-long experience in peaceful development. It rejects power politics and unilateralism, opposes the approach of enhancing one nation's security at the expense of others, and advocates common security through equal consultations and sustainable security via win-win cooperation. The logic gained broad resonance at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue.

As an ancient Chinese adage goes, "A single person struggles to rise alone, yet a crowd marches forward with ease". From the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia to negotiations on the South China Sea Code of Conduct, Asian countries have demonstrated that regional security can be effectively achieved through equal consultations and mutually beneficial cooperation without the need for military alliances.

Against the backdrop of global governance challenges, Asian countries should stand united, uphold the Asian security model, and embrace the trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation to jointly build a brighter future for the region.

Shen Zhixiong is a professor at the International College of Defense Studies of the People's Liberation Army National Defense University; and Shao Jingjing is an associate professor at the same college.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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