As the annual Shangri-La Dialogue opens Friday in Singapore, the unusually intensive media coverage seems ominous: A mechanism designed to facilitate peace in Asia might have morphed into a hatching ground for confrontation.
In the lead-up to the forum, which gathers defense chiefs and top military officials from across the Asia-Pacific, speculations are rife that certain countries would take advantage of the event to cobble together a coalition against China.
Such a scenario would be no surprise. Over recent years various prestigious security forums have now and then been hijacked by peddlers of "China threat" theories to achieve their selfish gains at the cost of others.
This kind of foul practice in international politics is deplorable. Although the Cold War has been over for decades, its mentality is unfortunately still haunting around.
The Shangri-La Dialogue should not fall prey to those headstrong believers of zero-sum games. It needs to stay true to its purpose of facilitating cooperation among participants, instead of becoming a venue for confrontation.
Asia is home to over 60 percent of the global population and accounts for a third of the global economic output. Stability in the region is a boon not only for the continent itself but also the whole world.
Countries that have territorial disputes with China may feel tempted by the idea of having ganged up against China, but surely they know that such an alliance could hardly be a viable solution to the disputes. Instead, it will immediately put Asia's stability at risk.
China cherishes the peaceful environment in Asia and is strongly motivated to continue to make contributions to lasting peace in the region.
China has been committed to solving territorial disputes or maritime rights disputes through peaceful means and has already finished land border demarcation with 12 of its 14 neighbors via friendly consultations.
Unless provoked, China will proceed in the same peaceful manner to conduct bilateral dialogue with relevant countries so as to find a solution to their respective territorial disputes at an early date.
For the United States, which has played an indisputable role instigating a "collective confrontation" with China, the message is also clear: Beijing welcomes constructive U.S. role in Asia, but a meddling hand extending too long will by no means be received with hospitality.
As a matter of fact, China has witnessed quite some waves and storms during the past few decades. It is only illusion that China would be intimidated to forgo its determination to safeguard its territorial integrity and maritime rights, and it is also futile to try to damage China's reputation as a peace-loving nation.
It is advisable that participants for this year's Shangri-La Dialogue ditch selfish calculations and focus their attention on seeking long-term security and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
With interdependence among countries deepening, governments in the Asia-Pacific region need to work on improving mutual trust and promote regional integration in a constructive way so as to achieve win-win results.
