China-proposed security framework could fend off conflict, US 'meddling', experts say

The China-proposed Global Security Initiative has huge potential as a bulwark against conflict and as a promoter of peace and stability in Asia, experts said.

"The future of the Global Security Initiative… has huge potential, and I think it will gain traction in a matter of time because it is very pragmatic," said Anna Malindog-Uy, vice-president for external affairs at the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute.

Given that the world is facing a volatile and challenging geopolitical order, Malindog-Uy said the GSI will serve to provide guardrails against instability and conflict.

"I think that is a good prescription if you want to pursue peace, stability and development in Asia and beyond," she said.

The GSI was proposed by President Xi Jinping in April at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 in Hainan province.

It puts forth six commitments for countries to consider: the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security for all countries; respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; adhering to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter; the legitimate security concerns of all countries; resolving differences and dispute through dialogue and consultation; and maintaining security in both traditional and nontraditional domains to shoulder the responsibility for maintaining peace.

In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping announced that building a community with a shared future for mankind is the way forward for all the world's people. China has put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and the country stands ready to work with the international community to put these two initiatives into action, he said.

There are many serious security challenges in Asia, including tensions in the Korean Peninsula and along the borders between India, China and Pakistan, as well as turmoil in Myanmar and conflicts in the Middle East, said Henry Chan, a visiting senior research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace.

"Being the largest country in the region and the dominant economic and military power as well, the Chinese commitment to the peaceful resolution of dispute provides the necessary anchor to regional peace," Chan said.

With dialogue being the vital first step to resolving conflict, he said that China can play the role of dialogue initiator in terms of regional security.

Chan said the GSI's commitments largely resonate with the core principles of the 1955 Bandung Conference on the mutual respect of sovereignty, nonaggression, noninterference in internal affairs, and equality.

"China's consistency in abiding by the Bandung Spirit in its international relationships is reassurance that it will not be a hegemon and will treat others on equal footing," Chan said.

Ong Tee Keat, chairman of the Kuala Lumpur-based think tank, Centre for New Inclusive Asia, said the notion of the GSI is rooted in the principle of "indivisible security", underscoring that no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others.