New Delhi, February 13, 2012: The concept of security has expanded and undergone a massive transformation to include economic progress, especially in the context of global economy, climate change and good governance, said Minister of Defence for India, Mr AK Antony on Monday. Mr Antony was speaking at the inaugural session of the 14th Asian Security Conference organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).
Emphasising further on the non traditional threats, the minister said that “the impact of basic issues such as food, water, economic instability and security-related issues, such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and drug trafficking is having an impact on the dynamics of various societies and nations.”
The minister called upon the Asian countries to work towards setting up a mechanism to take regular contact and dialogue between nations to the next level and make common recommendations to the governments and to help them address such challenges in an effective manner.
Further, throwing light on India’s role, the minister added, that as one of the fastest growing economies in the region and a stable democratic nation, “India has been and will continue to be committed towards building a peaceful, secure and economically stable Asia”. India is the “only country in the world to form a ministry for new and renewable energy and also has drawn up a National Action for Climate Change and set up an Advisory Council chaired by the Prime Minister”, said Mr Antony.
Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries, Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta said that a common feature of the non traditional security threats is that they are transnational. They affect large number of people, they are not well understood, they are mutually reinforcing and they require wider international cooperation.”
Dr Gupta expressed hope that the three day conference would address these issues and would bring forth new ideas, which will enrich the understanding of the challenges arising out of non traditional security threats.
Prof. T K Oommenear, the chair of the first session on Traditional Vs Non-Traditional Security Issues, while referring to the lack of conceptual framework for dealing with non-traditional issues, emphasised upon the need to treat traditional and non-traditional issues as continuum. He said that state society and environment must be factored into the framework of non-traditional security. The session was addressed by Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, John Jackson Ewing, Cleo Paskal and Col (Retd) P K Gautam.’
The Asian Security Conference is a flagship event of IDSA, organised annually to capture the complex issues involved in Asia’s emergence as the new locus of international affairs in the 21st century and India’s emergence as a factor in the continent’s evolving economic, political and security dynamics. For this purpose, every year since 1999, IDSA has brought together academics, policy analysts, and officials (government and multilateral organisations) from various Asian countries, as well as other parts of the world to debate upon issues pertaining to Asian affairs under the auspices of the Asian Security Conference. The conference’s deliberations have been enriched by the participation of successive Indian Ministers of Defence and of External Affairs, as well as of political leaders from various countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Japan, Maldives, Mongolia, Netherlands, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
Mechanism for Regular Dialogue Key to addressing security issues: Antony