Responsible regional role

Patients are carried out of a hospital in Kathmandu after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hits Nepal on Tuesday. The quake caused devastation, sending terrified residents running into the streets, according to witnesses. [Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP]

The fourth disaster relief exercise of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, with the participation of 21 members including China and eight international and regional organizations, aims to promote regional security governance based on a "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" security perspective.

The series of natural disasters that have occurred in Asia in recent years, from the destructive earthquake in Japan and the typhoon disaster in the Philippines to the fresh water crisis in Maldives and the recent earthquake in Nepal, shows the extent of non-traditional security risks in Asia, underscoring its need for a common security consciousness and cooperative spirit.

Disaster relief is an area to which ARF members have attached great importance and where they have conducted pragmatic cooperation. The biennial disaster relief exercise, in particular, has effectively boosted regional countries' capabilities to deal with risks and challenges. China's voluntary participation in such regional cooperation is an indication of its willingness to participate in regional security and its capability for this purpose.

China's active approach is also reflected in its attitude toward traditional issues of regional security. Both the "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" Asian security outlook presented by President Xi Jinping at the May 2014 summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia and his proposal at the annual conference of Boao Forum for Asia in March for a "community of shared destiny" are manifestations of China's commitment to playing a responsible role in promoting regional cooperation and security.

With the buildup of China's strength, the regional power pattern might undergo a kind of change. But other countries should look at what kind of benefits such a change will bring, instead of being threatened by it.

The above is an abridgement of a People's Daily article published on Thursday.