Portraying itself as a peacemaker, China said Thursday that Asian countries must treat each other as equals and rethink their security strategies to deal with a changing political and economic landscape and the failure of old policies, according to AP. «The old thinking on security, based on security alliances, national strength, deterrence and raw strength, instead of bringing security and peace to the world, only subjected it to dominance ... and even conflicts and wars in the past century,» Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the ASEAN Regional Forum, the area's largest security grouping. Instead, countries should focus on common interests, respect diversity, strengthen coordination and avoid confrontation, he said. China, already an economic behemoth and growing rapidly, has been trying to expand its clout in Asia and dispel suspicions about its motives. It has been hosting six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The ASEAN Regional Forum brings together the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and 16 other countries, including China, Australia, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas. In preliminary meetings this week, ASEAN foreign ministers focused much of the time on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, hoping to build momentum for continued progress after the shutdown last month of its atomic reactor. Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, the group's new chairman, said the ministers discussed terrorism, maritime security, climate change, North Korea's nuclear program and the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. «The stability of Afghanistan is an urgent task for the international community,» Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba said.
