President Lee Teng-hui this morning addressed the First Conference of the Asia-Pacific Security Forum at its Inaugural Conference held in Taipei. The full text of his speech is as follows:
Today marks the inauguration of the Asia-Pacific Security Forum and the opening of its first conference in Taipei. On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, I extend a sincere welcome to the scholars and experts from other countries who have traveled a long distance to attend this meeting.
In the post-Cold War era, the re-adjusted new world order can be characterized as follows:
First, the ideological confrontation of the past has been replaced by economic competition among nations and their endeavors to enhance international competitiveness and to improve quality of life.
Second, as the trends of democratization and ideals of free economy have swept across the world, democratic processes are universally recognized as the sole, legitimate source of government power, and structural reforms in favor of market economy as the only passport to growth and efficiency.
Third, regional cooperation has become indispensable to ensure national security and better prospects for development.
And fourth, with the ever increasing awareness of interdependence among all humanity, nations throughout the world have started to sense that only through international cooperation will there be effective solutions to worldwide problems such as nuclear proliferation, rampant drug trafficking, rapid population growth, global environmental changes, and terrorism.
Over the past thirty-odd years, many Asia-Pacific nations have enjoyed rapid economic growth. Particularly, during last decade, these nations have steadfastly committed themselves to economic liberalization and market-oriented reforms, thereby accelerating the growth of inter-regional trade and investment. Though starting late, the economic and trade integration in the region has progressed at an amazing pace. From the evolution of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and its endeavors to liberalize trade and investment, we can see that Asia-Pacific nations fully sense that their own future depends heavily on the interest of the entire region. No country can stay outside of this dominant trend of regional economic cooperation. On the whole, the APEC heralds an era of Asia-Pacific regional cooperation.
Nevertheless, it is troubling that in contrast with other regions of the world, confrontation in East Asia has yet to fade into history with the Cold War; the potential remains for regional military conflicts in the forms of territorial disputes, arms race, and ideological confrontations. Although democracy has been instituted in Southern and Eastern Europe and Latin America, this third wave of democratization has not only failed to prevail in Asia, but also faces regressive challenges. While the Republic of China and a few other Asian nations have thoroughly democratized, some authoritarian regimes remain as tenacious as ever. The political instability created by a regime lacking in democratic legitimacy and showing no respect for human rights often affects regional security and order and thus poses the greatest threat to future regional economic development. Many potential flashpoints in the region are related to the instability and policy unpredictability of these authoritarian and totalitarian governments. It is very likely that these polities will implode, in spite of the fact that many other nations may be willing to help facilitate their peaceful transformation. This has remained the uncertain factor of regional security in Asia.
Under these circumstances, the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) becomes very meaningful in the sense that many Asia-Pacific nations are now attaching importance to the mechanisms underlying multilateral peace dialogues. However, these regional mechanisms for security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific area remain fragile, lagging far behind those for economic integration. Not yet considered official international organizations, the ARF and the CSCAP function only as stages for dialogue. Memberships and issues covered need to be expanded. Nevertheless, we hope and firmly believe that the high degree of economic interdependence and cooperation among nations in this area will promote the cooperative multilateral system for regional security.
It is both an obligation and a privilege for all Asia-Pacific nations to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of regional security mechanisms. The Republic of China is convinced that democracy, rule of law, and protection of human rights will bring about an international environment favorable to peace and prosperity. As early as 1992, the ROC proposed the establishment of an Asia-Pacific regional security system, and called for the creation of a collective security fund, disarmament, economic cooperation, and joint development of natural resources.
Since 1991, the ROC has actively participated in the "Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea," held annually in Indonesia. Furthermore, in light of our concern over the security of maritime transportation and our obligations as a South China Sea nation, the ROC on Taiwan has repeatedly attempted to win the opportunity to host the "TWG on Navigation, Shipping and Communications." The ROC government maintains that nations in the region should put aside, for the time being, their territorial disputes and should form joint ventures to develop natural resources. Profits thus generated could then be used to fund constructions of infrastructure. We believe that the best approach to ease tensions in the South China Sea is to replace military confrontation with common economic interest, to settle the disputes through dialogue, and to curtail military deployment.
Security in the Taiwan Strait is central to Asia-Pacific regional security and is closely connected with peace, stability and prosperity in the entire region. The ROC has spared no effort to ease tensions in the strait, and has consistently favored the principles of mutually beneficial exchanges and peaceful negotiations between the two sides. However, in an attempt to influence the ROC's first ever popular presidential election as well as for other considerations, Peking not only has unilaterally suspended cross-strait negotiations, but also has launched a series of military exercises in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, leading to grievous tensions in the strait.
The ROC sincerely hopes that Peking will face up to the reality of "one divided China under separate rule," terminate confrontation and resume negotiations between the two sides. I have repeatedly offered to embark on a journey of peace to the Chinese mainland, bringing with me the consensus and will of the 21 million people living on Taiwan. I would like to personally meet and exchange views with Peking's top leaders so that we can begin a new epoch in cross-strait cooperation. We want peace and stability between Taiwan and the mainland, which can be achieved through mutual cooperation based on the common denominators of Mr. Jiang Zemin's eight-point proposal and my six-point proposal. Only if both sides agree to solve all conflicts peacefully can the issue of national reunification be settled.
Today, scholars and experts from all over the world are gathered here in the hope of contributing to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world. You seek to bring genuine peace, prosperity, freedom, and dignity to all peoples in the global village. The Republic of China stands ready to commit itself to establishing mechanisms for Asia-Pacific regional security and cooperation. Moreover, we would like to call on all Asia-Pacific nations to work, hand in hand with foresight, open minds and a pragmatic attitude, toward jointly creating a new international order that meets the common ideals of all states in the region.
In closing, I wish the conference great success and each of you good health and happiness. Thank you.