Resolution on Political and Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region

19th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum
23-27 January 2011

Resolution on Political and Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region

APPF19/RES/15

(Sponsored by Chile, Mexico and Russian Federation)

NINETEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM:

Stating that today the Asia-Pacific is becoming a key region, which above all will determine the prospects of the global development;

Based on the will of the peoples of Asia and the Pacific to live in peace, stability, prosperity and in harmony with each other and the rest of the world;

Reiterating that the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula presently is a matter of great concern to Northeast Asia and to the Asia Pacific region in general, and referring to the resolution on the situation at the Korean Peninsula adopted at previous and current APPF Annual Meetings,

Perceiving that the threats of international terrorism, ethnic separatism, religious extremism, illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, and sea piracy are having a destabilizing effect on regional and national security in the region and Reaffirming the commitments made by the member parliaments of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in the fight against terrorism through resolutions adopted at previous and current Annual Meetings;

Recalling that the APEC Vision, proclaimed by the leaders at the summit in Seattle in 1993, called for a commitment to "achieving stability, security and prosperity for our peoples";

Aware that the nations of the Asia Pacific region have been facing new challenges and threats to human security, whose effects have been felt by their citizens, economies and societies as much or more than the rest of the world;

Taking into account the "Vision of Yokohama", proclaimed by the APEC leaders at the summit of November, 2010, which proposed constructing an Asia Pacific Community better prepared to address threats to human security and economic activity;

Expressing support to APEC for having paid increasing attention to human security issues in the Asia Pacific, understanding that the new threats to security, including terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, constitute a direct and profound challenge to the APEC vision of free, open and prosperous economies;

Aware that proliferation of nuclear weapons jeopardizes the region’s peace and stability;

Acknowledging that military exercises or nuclear tests do not contribute to the reduction of tension in the Asia-Pacific region;

Convinced that peace is an indispensable condition for the harmonious development of the Asia-Pacific region and the main desire of its societies, as represented by their governments and parliaments;

Strongly rejecting the use of violence as an instrument to accomplish any matters, as it is contrary to the aspirations of peace and conciliation among nations;

Convinced that the axis driving all international relations should be dialogue, cooperation and negotiations between States;

Aware that the establishment of an effective control against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction requires a strong political will and an active cooperation of member States;

Convinced of the fundamental role of international instruments for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in maintaining safety and peace in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the Treaties of Bangkok, Rarotonga and Tlatelolco, which have ensured the de-nuclearization of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region;

Understanding that the unilateral development of programs for producing weapons of mass destruction is one of the main causes of instability in the Asia-Pacific region and may give rise to an arms race seriously threatening regional and international safety;

Deeply concerned about the possibility that terrorist groups may gain access to weapons of mass destruction and about the resulting implications this would present for regional and world safety;

Aware that the United Nations Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is the most important instrument for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region and therefore it is necessary that all Asia-Pacific countries sign it;

Convinced that transparency and cooperation concerning the exchange of information on the possession of weapons and the development of arms programs are key in building a climate of trust that permits to ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region;

Concerned about a possible military escalation and arms race in the region;

Emphasizing the fact that the new security challenges are multidimensional and transnational in nature, and therefore need to be addressed in the context of a multilateral regional architecture, based on mutual trust and cooperation among countries;

Noting that the pattern of historical development Asia-Pacific region had caused the present day lack of an integrated, coherent architecture of security and cooperation, and that this region, characterized by the diversity of cultures and religions, variety of political systems and development models, multiplicity of conflicts and threads, needs contemporary architecture of security and cooperation;

Stating that most reasonable way to create such architecture is to proceed with development of multilateral network diplomacy and establishment of widespread partnership network of entities and forums in Asia-Pacific region;

Stating that the bias towards retaining and strengthening the enclosed, narrowly bounded defense alliances in Asia-Pacific strains the tension, aggravates mutual distrust in the region, fixes the old dividing lines and draws the new ones, contradicts the present day’s realities and trend of the development of the modern world, the nature and scale of challenges and threads which the region faces;

Noting that in the area of security there is no alternative to the collective efforts to secure regional peace and stability, to the achievement of cooperation based on well recommended multilateral non-block associations through further development of friendly bilateral relations between the Asia-Pacific countries, not aimed against the third party states, and through promotion and strengthening of the confidence-building measures in different areas;

Convinced that dialog is the ideal path to solving existing differences among States and that peace is the ultimate end of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum;

Stating that no political divergence justifies military actions against civilians and that war acts constitute a violation of the elementary rights of the population;

Reaffirming the unequivocal condemnation of military operations as a solution to differences among countries;

Recognizing that the fundamental duty of the region’s nations is to actively cooperate to achieve the peaceful solution of differences between the Asia-Pacific region’s countries;

Apprehending also that the global financial and economic crisis has brought to the countries of the region new acute problems – turmoil in financial markets, threats to energy and food security;

Realizing that the inevitable consequence of the above said is not only the increased risk of internal destabilization in certain countries, but also the aggravation of competition between the countries regarding the access to energy resources, to strategic transport routes, to finance sources and to consumer markets;

Sharing the understanding that the advent of these challenges has once again highlighted absence of any alternative to the joint efforts by all Asian-Pacific countries to ensure political stability and sustainable regulated development;

Acknowledging that it is impossible to counter these threats on one nation’s own;

RESOLVES TO:

Insist on the need for Member States of the APPF to intensify their cooperation within the framework of APEC to address the challenges and threats, both traditional and non-traditional, to the security of the economies and citizens of Asia Pacific.
Reiterate the unequivocal condemnation of all development of nuclear weaponry and their use in the Asia-Pacific region, in the understanding that these actions only lead to a severe compromise of peace and stability in the region.
Promote cooperation among the countries for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Call upon the Asia-Pacific countries reject the production and use of weapons of mass destruction, renouncing their use even as dissuasive or counter-attack instruments, opting for dialogue and diplomatic negotiations as the path to solving differences.
Urge the States to implement and fully comply with the obligations contemplated at the time of signing the relevant instruments against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, such as the Treaty for Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons, as well as conventions concerning chemical and biological weapons, establishing environments of cooperation that ensure their effective compliance.
Urge member States to adopt the United Nations’ Security Council Resolution 1540 and to carry out actions to prevent terrorist groups from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction.
Request countries with nuclear capability to strengthen control over their nuclear production, especially regarding the origin, processing and destination of fissile material and its unrestricted supervision by the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAN), regardless of whether they may have signed or not the Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Call upon countries to exercise a strict control over their military arsenals and war equipment, in order to prevent their illicit trade.
Urge countries producing state of the art technology to carefully supervise the export processes of sensitive technologies, so as to ensure that they are not used for illicit ends by terrorist groups or States seeking to acquire the ability to produce weapons of mass destruction.
Call upon member parliaments to jointly work towards creating an instrument for regional verification that allows to make the distinction between nuclear production processes for peaceful means and those processes that are carried out for the purpose of producing weapons, ensuring free access to the benefits of nuclear technology without compromising the region’s safety.
Invite the APPF parliamentarians to actively collaborate with the efforts to disarm and fight proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, fostering the creation of control mechanisms for WMD within their respective parliaments and governments.
Support the move towards establishment of an open transparent and equal security system in the region, predicated on collective non-block basis, the norms and principles of international law and account of the legitimate interests of all countries of the region;
Suggest to progress in this direction through the development of multilateral network diplomacy, including the parliamentary diplomacy;
Stress the need for practical steps to enhance regional security, meaning, above all, to carry out confidence-building measures in the military area, and to bridge the bilateral and multilateral military cooperation that is not directed against any third-party countries;
Call upon the Parliaments and the Governments of the region countries to give priority to the strengthening of the legal framework of security in the Asia-Pacific region and to more distinct formalization of the military and political commitments of the states of the region, which should envisage confirmation of the principle of indivisibility of security, the deployment of conventional weapons on the basis of the principle of reasonable sufficiency, and bringing the military doctrines of the states of the region to a non-offensive essence.
Call for an exchange of information among the region’s parliamentarians concerning issues of safety, so as to prevent unilateral actions that may lead to a larger scale confrontation in the region.