Third Plenary Session: Asia-Pacific Security Architecture: Present and Future
Distinguished Chair,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to thank the host of the Forum for the excellent organization of the event, for an invitation to take part and the opportunity to speak in front of such a representative audience.
The growing rivalry of global forces leads to an increase in the number and intensity of conflicts on the planet. The turbulent processes that shake the entire world today have not left Asia aside. We have all witnessed the recent escalation of violence in West Asia. It is a matter of great regret and sympathy that there are a significant number of casualties and suffering among the civilian population. Disregard for the lives of civilians, the lack of priority for humanitarian issues, the indiscriminate use of weapons, hostage-taking tactics, as well as attempts to resolve long-standing political problems by force in general, are unacceptable. Violence creates a new circle of violence. In the current circumstances of geopolitical fracture and new dividing lines, multilateralism and inclusiveness have become the only possible approach to ensuring peace and stability.
There are many encouraging examples of confidence building measures and genuine cooperation leading to the strengthening of the security and well-being of peoples that are taking place today.
Dismantling the bipolar world has dramatically increased the potential of medium and small countries, which have realized that they are capable of playing a prominent role in global and regional affairs if they join hands. Today, this process is observed all over the planet, but it is Asia where it is most visible.
Against the backdrop of traditional security instruments rooted in the Cold War, included global ones, new associations are being built in the Asian space, which we can consider as structural elements of the future regional security architecture.
Last decades some multinational organisations and fora were created in the region, including the ASEAN, Arab League, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Organization of Turkic States and others.
However, I dare say that the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia holds a special place among them.
The establishment of CICA as a single platform for pan-Asian dialogue on the threshold of this millennium was an objective necessity in the context of the progressive globalization and economic development, but along with this worsening challenges and threats to security amidst ongoing sub-regional and local conflicts.
The main objective of the CICA Member States is to build an architecture of security and cooperation in Asia based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law, transparency and mutual trust, with decisions and actions based solely on consensus.
Today, CICA unites 28 states covering more than 90 percent of the territory of Asia, stretching from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. It is a unique multilateral dialogue platform providing its diverse membership equal opportunities for voluntary cooperation and participation in collective decision-making for the benefit of entire Asia.
CICA is a unique consensus-based multilateral platform to enhance cooperation for promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. As a multilateral platform, CICA provides equal opportunities for its members with different political, economic and socio-cultural backgrounds to jointly discuss ideas, share knowledge and best practices, collaborate on useful initiatives and make decisions based on mutual consent.
I would like to highlight the unique nature of CICA, where large, small, medium and very large states participate on a truly equal footing. We have no blocs, there is and can be no pressure of the stronger ones on those who are weaker.
CICA brings around the same table states that sometimes have no diplomatic relations with each other or even mutual diplomatic recognition. This is the great value and unique feature of CICA setting it apart from other organizations that operate in the region.
Our forum is a flexible structure guided by such fundamental principles as inclusiveness, strict consensus, and voluntariness. CICA countries have, at times, vastly differing perspectives on certain issues on the international agenda. However, strict adherence to the mentioned principles allows them to interact effectively and develop solutions by focusing not on what divides them but on what unites them.
I would especially like to note that while a number of regional structures around the globe are facing problems of new goal-setting in a changing world, stagnation and even crisis of further development, CICA continues to grow, actively evolve and try to meet the challenges of the time.
This was evidenced by the unanimous decision of our Member States on CICA transformation.
The Sixth CICA Summit held in Astana last October in the thirtieth anniversary year of CICA, launched a structured, inclusive and transparent negotiation process of gradual, incremental and consensus-based transformation of CICA into a full-fledged international regional organization. Meanwhile, over its three decades of evolution, CICA has acquired the status, role, structure, functions, modus operandi and other features of a full-fledged international organization yet.
Since its establishment, CICA's main area of activity has been confidence building measures (CBMs) in the five dimensions: military-political, economic, environmental, human, and new challenges and threats. All CICA CBMs are reflected in the CICA Catalogue of CBMs and grouped into 18 priority areas, coordinated by individual states. To date, there are 17 coordinators and 23 co-coordinators.
Confidence building measures in the military-political area were at the core of the establishment of our Conference and remains one of the key areas of our interaction. In the military-political dimension, CICA provides its Member States with mechanisms for exchanging information on arms control issues, holding consultations on unexpected and dangerous military incidents, monitoring military exercises and other forms of cooperation between the armed forces.
CICA Member States attach high priority to cooperation in the new threats and challenges dimension, including the fight against terrorism, illegal migration, drug trafficking and in other areas.
Other dimensions of confidence-building measures, although at first glance they are not directly related to security issues, work to strengthen mutual and regional security through the development of cooperation, creating mutual understanding and trust.
The CICA Catalogue of CBMs is a unique document for the Asian region and in the world history of diplomacy at whole. First approved in 2004, it was substantially updated and expanded in 2021 at the last CICA Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
It is a document, in which the Member States agreed on joint approaches to interaction in order to build confidence by upholding the “simple-to-complex” principle – first establishing confidence, then, on this basis, building full cooperation that leads to greater mutual security, which, in turn, is the prerequisite for sustainable development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We live in an era of constantly changing great risks and threats to global security. Asia, a home to 60 percent of the world's population, is the most challenging continent in this context. These risks have various root causes and manifestations, and we have no choice but to collectively solve all security problems through multilateral mechanisms.
I am sure that the future of international security lies in multilateral diplomacy. Only the strengthening of genuine multilateralism based on confidence building measures can provide an adequate response to the challenges of our time and show the transition from competition to cooperation.
I strongly believe that CICA will further contribute to the consolidation of the common vision of Asian states and their connectivity. In the future CICA will definitely take a prominent place in the comprehensive security architecture of the Asian continent and the world.
Thank you for your attention.
Beijing, October 31, 2023
