14th Asian Security Conference kicks off in New Delhi

The three-day conference, organized by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), was inaugurated by Defence Minister, A K Antony.

Addressing the conference Antony said: “The threat to the overall security and well- being of the people from non-traditional factors continues to endanger nations in general and Asia in particular”.

He said that with the world population putting an enormous burden on existing natural resources, competition for these resources can lead to conflicts among various countries in Asia.

”Terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and transnational crimes are common concerns the world over. Terrorism continues to remain a grave concern to world peace and stability,” said the Defence Minister.

Drawing the attention to the threat, Antony said that nations must draw up collective and innovative measures to counter and defeat such asymmetric threats. Weapons of mass destruction go beyond nuclear weapons. These weapons may be biological, chemical and radiological, in nature. Often, these weapons do not require sophisticated delivery systems. There is always a danger that these weapons may fall into wrong hands.

Thus, nations need to cooperate with each other and draw up a comprehensive approach to evolve institutional frameworks to defeat such challenges, he added.

Maintaining that the United Nations and other multilateral institutions will continue to play a proactive role. However, the time has come for Asian countries to set up a mechanism to take regular contact and dialogue mechanisms to the next higher level. A network of prominent Asian think-tanks to hold regular dialogues on security issues can make common recommendations to governments to help them address such challenges in an effective manner, Antony noted.

The theme of the conference is ‘Non-Traditional Security Threats: Today And Tomorrow’. Experts from India and abroad, including three from China, are participating in the three-day conference. The ASC is an annual conference organized by the IDSA since 1999.

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