Participation in non-traditional security cooperation
livelihood. On political security, China advocates the new security concept featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and supports all parties to strengthen cooperation on non-traditional security, discuss the building of a regional security framework, and properly settle hotspot and sensitive issues.
China actively promotes cooperation in various areas of the EAS. Since 2015 China has hosted the Second EAS New Energy Forum, Second EAS Clean Energy Forum, EAS Wildlife Protection Symposium, EAS Track II Seminar on Maritime Cooperation for Security in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Fifth EAS Workshop on Regional Security Framework, and the Fourth and Fifth EAS Earthquake Search and Rescue Exercises.
The ARF has become an influential and inclusive platform for official multilateral security dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. All parties have been making confidence-building measures as their core mission, promoting preventive diplomacy based on consensus, and steadily enhancing cooperation in non-traditional security fields.
On July 26, the 23rd ARF Ministerial Meeting was held in Vientiane, Laos. The Chinese side pointed out that the forum should focus on confidence-building measures throughout the whole process, and explore a preventive diplomacy mode compatible with the regional situation step by step on the basis of consensus. All sides should further strengthen dialogue and cooperation, enhance understanding and mutual trust among regional countries, work together to cope with non-traditional security threats and other challenges, and enable the forum to make greater contributions to regional peace and security.
China has actively led practical cooperation within the framework of the ARF. Since 2015 it has hosted the Workshop on Cyber Security Capacity Building, Third ARF Workshop on Space Security, ARF Seminar on Maritime Risk Management and Cooperation, ARF Workshop on Marine Oil Spill Emergency Response and Management and Disposal Cooperation, ARF Workshop on Strengthening Management of Cross-Border Movement of Criminals, ARF Workshop on Green Shipping, and ARF Workshop on Urban Emergency Rescue.
The ADMM-Plus is the highestlevel and largest defense and security dialogue and cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. It has played a vital role in enhancing mutual trust and promoting pragmatic cooperation among the defense ministries and armed forces of all parties.
On November 4, 2015, at the Third ADMM-Plus held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Chinese side pointed out that all parties should push for the building of an open, inclusive, transparent and even-handed regional security cooperation framework, keep deepening pragmatic defense cooperation, properly handle disputes, manage and control risks, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.
In 2016 the Chinese military participated in the ADMM-Plus peacekeeping and demining joint exercise in India and the maritime security and counterterrorism exercises in Brunei and Singapore. From 2017 to 2020 China and Thailand will co-chair the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Counterterrorism.
The establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework was an important initiative put forward by Premier Li Keqiang at the 17 th China-ASEAN Summit in November 2014. This initiative aims to enhance good-neighborliness and friendship among the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong River through pragmatic cooperation, promote subregional economic and social development, and forge a community of shared future for solidarity, mutual assistance, evenhanded consultation, shared benefits and mutually beneficial cooperation in the subregion. The LMC framework has China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as its members.
The LMC has registered encouraging progress. One leaders’ meeting, one foreign ministers’ meeting and three senior officials’ meetings have been held by November 2016. In November 2015 the First LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Jinghong, in China’s Yunnan province, at which the foreign ministers of the six countries announced the start of the LMC process, reached broad consensus on the direction of future cooperation and the structure of the LMC, and put forward proposals for a number of cooperation projects.
On March 23, 2016 the First LMC Leaders’ Meeting was held in Sanya, in China’s Hainan Province, officially launching the LMC framework. Leaders of the six countries reviewed past progress, shared their vision for the future of the LMC, and agreed to coordinate their strategies for development, make overall planning of their cooperation resources, share the benefits of development, and build a community of shared future among the Lancang-Mekong countries. The meeting confirmed the “3+5” mechanism of cooperation: the three cooperation pillars of political and security issues, economic and sustainable development, and cultural and people-topeople exchanges; and the five key priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, and agriculture and poverty reduction. The meeting issued the Sanya Declaration of the First LancangMekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting and the Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation Among the Lancang-Mekong Countries, and adopted a joint list of early-harvest programs in areas such as connectivity, water resources, public health and poverty reduction.
Since 2015 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has maintained sound and steady development. Progress has been made in political, security, economic and cultural cooperation, leading to the firmer international standing and greater influence of the SCO.
President Xi Jinping attended the 15th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the SCO member states on July 9-10, 2015 in Ufa, Russia, where they signed the Ufa Declaration of the Heads of State of SCO Member States and the SCO Member States Agreement on Border Defence Cooperation, and approved important documents including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Development Strategy until 2025 and the SCO Member States 2016-2018 Cooperation Program on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism.
Premier Li Keqiang chaired the 14th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the SCO member states held in China on December 14-15, 2015. The leaders at the meeting laid out plans for cooperation in various fields for the next stage, issued the Statement of the Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of SCO Member States on Regional Economic Cooperation, adopted the resolution on Preparation for Creating the SCO Development Bank and the SCO Development Foundation (Specialized Account), and witnessed the signing of the Program of Interaction Between the Customs Agencies of the SCO member states for 2016-2021 and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the SCO and the Secretariat of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
On June 23-24, the 16th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the SCO member states was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. President Xi Jinping attended the meeting. The heads of the member states signed the Tashkent Declaration on the 15 th Anniversary of the SCO, approved the Action Plan for 20162020 on Implementation of the SCO Development Strategy Toward 2025, and adopted the Memorandums of the Obligations on the Entry of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the SCO.
Since 2015 meetings of heads of various departments including security council secretaries, foreign ministers, defense ministers, economic and trade ministers, culture ministers and heads of emergency response agencies have been held. These meetings deepened and expanded cooperation in various fields, and increased the SCO’s international influence. China has promoted and participated in SCO cooperation across the board. China’s bilateral relations with other SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners have continued to grow.
On April 27-28, the Fifth Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CICA member states was held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered an important speech. The meeting issued the Declaration on Promoting Peace, Security, Stability and Sustainable Development in Asia Through Dialogue and adopted the 2016-2018 Cooperation Initiative of the CICA Member States for Drug Control and the 2016-18 CICA Initiative for the Implementation of Confidence-Building Measures for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises.
China has actively implemented the confidence-building measures of CICA in all fields and made innovative efforts in the cooperation platform of CICA. Since 2015 China has hosted the founding conference of the CICA Youth Council, founding assembly of CICA Business Council, First CICA Non-Governmental Forum and Third Think Tank Roundtable, which have helped to implement the confidence-building measures in cultural and economic fields, and promoted dialogue and exchange among young people, NGOs and think tanks.
VI. China’s Participation in Regional Non-Traditional Security Cooperation
Since 2015 the Chinese government has been actively involved in and promoted exchanges and cooperation on disaster relief in the AsiaPacific region. China hosted the Eighth SCO Meeting of Heads of Emergency Prevention and Relief Agencies and the Third China-Japan-ROK Tabletop Exercise on Disaster Management, co-hosted with Malaysia the Fourth ARF Disaster Relief Exercise, and participated in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, International Drill of the Emergency Prevention and Relief Agencies of the SCO Member States, the Ninth APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials’ Forum and International Search and Rescue Advisory Group Asia-Pacific Regional Earthquake Response Exercise.
In January and July 2015 and in May 2016, when Malaysia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka were hit by devastating floods, China immediately provided relief supplies to the three countries. In the wake of severe earthquakes in Nepal in April 2015 China sent rescue and medical teams and transportation detachments to the country and provided mobile field hospitals in support of disaster-relief efforts.
The Chinese government will continue to work with relevant parties to improve mutual visits of officials, information sharing, personnel training, technological exchanges, simulation exercises, scientific research cooperation, mate- rial reserves and emergency aid, to enhance practical bilateral and multilateral cooperation in disaster relief, and improve disaster mitigation and relief capacity in the AsiaPacific area.
Since 2015 China has cooperated with a number of neighboring countries in combating terrorism-related human smuggling, and arrested a number of terrorist suspects and human smugglers active in the region. These efforts dealt a heavy blow to the illegal human smuggling networks of the “Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement” (ETIM) and other terrorist organizations, and effectively countered and prevented the infiltration efforts of the ETIM and other terrorist organizations.
China has held bilateral anti-terrorism consultations with the US, Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, the ROK and Indonesia, hosted the 13th ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counterterrorism and Transnational Crimes, and promoted cooperation on combating Internet-spread violent and terrorist audios/videos and cross-border terrorist activities. In addition, by taking an active part in the APEC Counterterrorism Working Group, the Global Counterterrorism Forum and the ASEAN plus China Meeting on Transnational Crime at ministerial level, China has strengthened exchanges in anti-terrorism cooperation.
China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan have established a coordination mechanism on counterterrorism cooperation among the military forces of the four countries, aimed at conducting coordination on situation analysis, verification of clues, sharing of intelligence, capacity building, joint training and personnel training, and providing mutual assistance.
The Chinese government places high importance on combating transnational crimes, and is committed to fully and earnestly implementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). China has concluded 123 judicial assistance and extradition treaties with 70 countries, and actively promoted the establishment of bilateral judicial and law-enforcement cooperation mechanisms with the US and Canada. These efforts have provided a solid legal basis and effective platform for China’s cooperation with relevant countries in combating transnational crime in all forms.
China is actively involved in international cooperation in combating transnational organized crimes and maintains sound cooperation with the UN and other international and regional organizations. It has facilitated law-enforcement and security cooperation along the Mekong River and conducted multiple joint actions with Southeast Asian countries in combating transnational crimes, and effectively fought against human trafficking, telecom fraud, economic crimes and drugrelated crimes that are prevalent in the region. In October 2015 China hosted the China-ASEAN Ministerial Dialogue on Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation with the theme “Security for Prosperity” and the Ministerial Meeting on Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation along the Mekong River. In the Second Safe Mekong Joint Operation by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, over 10,000 suspects were arrested, more than 9,000 drug-related cases were solved, and a large quantity of narcotics was seized.
China stands ready to enhance judicial and law-enforcement cooperation with relevant countries in a joint effort to fight transnational crimes, and calls on all countries to enhance their political will for international cooperation, overcome differences in legal systems, promote cooperation within the framework of the UNTOC, including cooperation on extradition, provide wide judicial assistance, and cooperate in the recovery and disposal of criminal proceeds. China also encourages countries concerned to negotiate and conclude bilateral extradition and judicial assistance treaties for more concrete outcomes in cooperation to combat transnational crimes.
Currently, cyber security is acquiring greater importance. AsiaPacific countries are placing high importance on cyber security, increasing input and actively conducting dialogue and regional cooperation on this issue. China is a staunch supporter of and an active participant in international efforts to ensure cyber security. It believes that cyberspace should be used to promote economic and social development, maintain international peace and stability, and improve the well-being of mankind. Countries should strengthen dialogue and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and build a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyberspace and a multilateral, democratic and transparent international internet regime. It is imperative that a universally accepted international code of conduct is formulated within the UN framework.
Since 2015 China has continued to promote cyber security within the UN framework, and been deeply involved in the process. China and other SCO member states have jointly submitted an updated version of the International Code of Conduct for Information Security to the UN General Assembly. China has contributed to the endeavors to formulate international rules governing cyberspace by taking an active part in and facilitating the efforts of the UN’s Group of Governmental Experts on Cyber Security to produce its final report, which affirms that the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including sovereign equality, noninterference in others’ internal affairs, and nonuse of force, also apply to cyberspace. China has also played a constructive role in the UN internet Governance Forum and the HighLevel Meeting on the Overall Review of the Implementation of the Outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society. China has continuously strengthened bilateral dialogues and practical cooperation on cyber security with countries in the region. China and Russia have signed the Information Security Cooperation Agreement and held a new round of consultation on cyber security. China-Japan-ROK, ChinaROK and China-EU dialogues on cyber security have been held. China and the US held the High-Level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues.
China attaches great importance to and takes an active part in regional mechanisms under the ARF, BRICS and SCO in order to promote balanced and inclusive development of network security cooperation in the region. China is actively involved in the BRICS Expert Working Group on Cyber-Security and the SCO Expert Group on International Information Security, and has worked on the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization to establish a Working Group on International Legal Issues Concerning Cyber Space. China also hosted the Second World internet Conference.
The year 2015 was the year of China-ASEAN maritime cooperation. Maritime cooperation is a key part of building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. China and the ASEAN countries conducted a series of exchanges and cooperative events on maritime security, scientific research and environmental protection. China and Thailand conducted a scientific expedition in the Andaman Sea, and held the Fourth Joint Committee Meeting on Marine Cooperation. China and Malaysia signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the China-Malaysia Joint Oceanographic Research Center. The construction of the China-Indonesia Center for the Oceans and Climate, and the Joint Oceanic Observation Station proceeded in an orderly way. The Third China-Southeast Asian Countries Marine Research and Environmental Protection Cooperation Forum was also held.
China has actively participated in and advanced dialogues and cooperation on maritime security. Since 2015 China has hosted the Asia-Pacific Heads of Maritime Administrations Conference, the multitask exercise “Cooperation for Law Enforcement 2015” of the North Pacific Coast Guard Agencies Forum, International Training Course for Lighthouse Management Personnel in the Asia-Pacific Area and the Asia-Pacific Mass Rescue Operation Training Course and Tabletop Exercise. China has continued its cooperation with Australia and Malaysia in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, and provided A$20 million ($14.8 million) for follow-up search-and-rescue efforts in this regard.
China has vigorously supported the capacity building and development of the Information Sharing Center under the Regional Coopera- tion Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery, and accredited maritime police officers to the ISC. In June 2016, as requested by Vietnam, China dispatched vessels and airplanes to assist in searching for and rescuing Vietnamese airplanes which had crashed, along with their crew members. From December 2008 to January 2016 Chinese fleets sent to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters as escorts conducted 909 missions, escorting 6,112 Chinese and foreign civilian vessels.
China supports and takes an active part in international arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation efforts, and stands for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons. China has earnestly implemented the outcomes of all the review conferences of the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and played a constructive role in the Ninth NPT review conference and the P5 Conference on Implementing the NPT. China stands ready to work with all parties through unremitting efforts to achieve the three NPT goals of “nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear power.”
China holds that establishing a Southeast Asia Nuclear-WeaponsFree Zone is of great significance for promoting regional and global peace and stability. China supports the efforts of ASEAN countries to establish a Southeast Asia NuclearWeapons-Free Zone, and stands for the early signing and going into effect of the protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone. China has solved all the remaining issues concerning the protocol with ASEAN, and looks forward to the signing of the protocol at an early date. China will continue to participate constructively in consultation between ASEAN and the five nuclear countries, and facilitate consultation between ASEAN and the other four nuclear countries to resolve their differences so that the protocol can be signed and come into effect at an early date.
China stands for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, opposes the development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by any one, and supports the purposes and goals of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, and the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. China is earnest in fulfilling its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention in its entirety, and attaches great importance to and supports international exchanges and cooperation under the convention.
In 2015 China held the 13th Regional Meeting of National Authorities of Asian State Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, hosted the Advanced Protection and Assistance Course with the OPCW, and held the Training Course on National Points of Contacts of States in the Asia-Pacific Region together with the UN Security Council 1540 Committee. China also participated in the Asian Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation, ARF Inter-Sessional Workshop on Non-Proliferation, and other related events.
Conclusion
The Chinese people are working hard to realize the Chinese Dream of the great renewal of the Chinese nation. In this process, China will bring greater opportunities and benefits for development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. China’s development adds to the momentum for world peace. China will firmly follow the path of peaceful development and the policy of “building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries” to create an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood. China remains committed to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in conducting neighborhood diplomacy and the goal of maintaining and promoting stability and prosperity in the AsiaPacific region. China stands ready to work with all countries in the region to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation and steadily advance security dialogues and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, and the building of a new model of international relations so as to create a brighter future for this region.