The gamut of issues, related to regional security concerns and perspectives, parallel comparisons, challenges and opportunities open for a stable Sri Lanka, taken up for discussion during the final sessions of the Army-organized ‘Defence Seminar - 2013’ on Thursday (5) shed light on how Sri Lanka should steer clear of challenges and move forward as ‘one country - one nation’.
Senior Colonel Prof Xu Hui of China commenting on ‘China’s rise in Asia and regional security concerns’ during the session one, asserted that China has seen the historical Rise of Asia in the past three decades and the region is still far from destabilized by an ‘aggressive’ China as imagined by some people, and a certain ‘China Threat’ theory appeared in international politics still continues to go on enabling birth of many predictions about China.
‘So far none of them has ever materialized and China’s political system still works, its economy is still growing and no neighbouring country has been invaded by China. Some argue that China’s gradual move towards great power status and her increasing international influence have caused anxiety in some countries to the extent that ‘How to deal with a rising China is the puzzle of the 21st century?’. In fact, the growth of China’s economy and its military strength, have become a source of concern for some scholars, statesmen and media.
China, contrary to these expectations has always contributed to the regional development, stability and peace through its policies for a friendly, secure and co-prosperous neighbourhood. While maintaining stability within China, it has followed the 5 principle of peaceful co-existence and respect ‘Asean Way’ through which economic cooperation with all countries is prioritized while contributing to regional peace. With our active defence policy, the Chinese way of deterrence is applied, that is ‘We are not going to attack unless we are attacked; we are certainly to counter-attack if we were attacked as Chairman Mao once said, Prof Xu Hui said.
Tracing historical roots between Sri Lanka and China he said it is not something new but started in culture exchanges some 1700 years ago as chronicles stated.
We have so many things in common; values of peaceful co-existence, opposing colonism, hegemonism, foreign interference, terrorism, etc.
‘Your Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake in the year 2007 at the National Defence University in China delivered a speech and said that both China and Sri Lanka can share experience in fighting the three evils; terrorism, separatism and extremism. In the same way we can learn from each other as your country keeps the momentum of comprehensive approach of reconciliation, reconstruction and rebuilding of your mother Lanka,’ he concluded.
At the end of his speech, Lieutenant General Daya Rathnayaka presented a token memento to the speaker in appreciation of his contribution to the occasion.
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