Why we need the OSCE Asian partnership

Nevertheless, in today’s globalised world, security in Asia is not of less high interest and relevance to Europe. Our two continents share close economic relations, important investments, and trade interests. At the same time, we are also facing common challenges in the area of terrorism, cybersecurity and migration. It is, therefore, obvious that regional stability in Asia, freedom of navigation, and peaceful conflict resolution in this region are of utmost importance also to us.

The OSCE throughout its existence has been a forum for dialogue and confidence building. It has contributed largely to overcome the division of Europe and the end of the Cold War. Looking at the potential relevance of the OSCE principles for Asia, the OSCE is of course no blueprint for Asia that can be directly applied. However, some OSCE experiences may be insightful for our Asian partners, given the challenges and corresponding risks, like disputes in the South China Sea, threats from transnational crime, terrorism and migration issues.

To name just a few OSCE experiences that might be helpful to prevent conflicts and to build trust in other regional contexts: It is essential to have structures in place for dialogue and crisis management to fall back on in times of crises; it is important to include all relevant regional actors; identifying topics that are of interest to all involved can serve as a basis for confidence building; increasing the readiness for dialogue among political leaders helps to avoid escalation and build trust. This remains the necessary condition for cooperation and comprehensive security across the OSCE’s three dimensions: politico-military, economic-environmental, and the human dimension. 

Asia and Europe can learn from each other. We are also interlinked to a degree that makes conflict in one region tangible and immediately relevant to the other. That is why we see the interest and necessity of working closer together on stability and security in our respective areas. With this year’s OSCE Asian Conference on Strengthening Comprehensive Security we are focusing on finding ways to strengthen security cooperation, to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to address challenges of human trafficking and irregular migration – important global challenges that we can only solve together!

Assuming the OSCE chairmanship 2016 in these challenging times is a sign of Germany’s strong commitment to making an active contribution to peace and security in Europe and beyond. Under the motto “Renewing Dialogue, Rebuilding Trust, Restoring Security”, the German OSCE chairmanship 2016 is focusing on the following priority areas: primary focus will continue to be crisis and conflict management in our immediate neighbourhood – in and around Ukraine and in other so-called protracted conflicts of the OSCE area like Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and the Transnistria. 

Beyond that, more generally, Germany aims to strength the OSCE’s crisis reaction and management capacities (including strong field missions) and wants to use the OSCE as a forum for dialogue on a broad range of issues like arms control, common transnational threats and migration issues. 

The economic and environmental dimension is another focus area Germany wants to strengthen. The recent OSCE Business Conference “Connectivity for Commerce and Investment” in May in Berlin was an excellent example of networking between all relevant stakeholders and has given new impetus to the second dimension within and beyond the OSCE. This conference was also attended by Thailand’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Virasakdi Futrakul, who stressed the importance of connectivity as a concept for development and regional cooperation and referred to the “Master Plan on Asean Connectivity”.

Finally, Germany is paying special attention during its OSCE chairmanship to topics such as tolerance and non-discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom of the media and minority rights. It is one of the OSCE’s fundamental tenets that security and sustainable development can only be guaranteed if basic principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected. One of the most important achievements of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act with its following OSCE documents therefore is the acknowledgement that security has to be looked at in a comprehensive way. A special OSCE Conference on Tolerance in October in Berlin will be another highlight of Germany’s OSCE chairmanship.