Regional security architecture would help dispel mistrust

Do people in the Asia-Pacific feel less secure than they did 10 years ago? Many in the region would answer in the affirmative without thinking. So do we need an Asia-Pacific security architecture, and if so how should it be built?

Scholars who attended the Second North Pavilion Dialogue, organized by Peking University's School of International Studies in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, tried to shed light on these questions.

Shiv Shankar Menon, a former Indian national security adviser, said the security situation in the Asia-Pacific has been peaceful since the 1970s, but people in the region today are worried by many trans-boundary issues ranging from maritime territorial disputes to terrorism and cybersecurity.