At the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai, President Xi Jinping proposed the Security Concept for Asia, saying security in Asia should fundamentally depend on Asians.
A strong reaction from the international community followed, with, in summary, three common misunderstandings of the proposition and the current situation in Asia.
One misunderstanding is that the concept is the Chinese version of the Monroe Doctrine, aiming to exclude the United States from a future security framework. Another is that “Asians” in the concept actually meant only Chinese. The third misunderstanding took the example of Europe, saying that if Europeans alone couldn’t fix European security, how could Asians do so in Asia?
These misunderstandings, wittingly or unwittingly, centered on a lack of comprehension of the word “fundamentally” in the concept, and a few explanations are in order.
First of all, it is simply impossible to expect non-Asian countries to safeguard Asian security. Asian countries, including Japan, doubt whether U.S. protection can ensure their security. It was not just China, but also other Asian countries, that the Chinese leader was referring to, as history has repeatedly proven that relying on others for one’s security entails risks.
Second, Asian security should be maintained in the Asian way. The Western mode of security inevitably involves one alliance against another, and profits from breeding confrontation, which is incompatible with a fast growing Asia. Regional organizations that have proved vital to Asia’s security, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the CICA and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have been created by Asians, but including elements and influences of the United States.
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