Global Korea와 동아시아 다자안보협력체제

Abstract

In the post－Cold War era, the possibility of armed conflict between the two super－powers has been significantly reduced, but there exist new sources of conflict such as racial and religious disputes, pollution, human rights, terrorism, energy issues, etc. These issues can not be resolved easily by a super－power or one country, but must be resolved in terms of common security or cooperative security. Though, there have been various discussions on multilateral security cooperation in the post－Cold War East Asia, multilateralism in the region Asia is still in an initial stage due largely to the lack of mutual confidence and common interests among regional countries. North Korean nuclear issue also makes multilateralism difficult to be materialized. Currently, various multilateral security dialogues exist in East Asia including the ARF, the Shangri－la dialogue, etc. and several mini－multilateral dialogues. From a South Korean point of view, any multilateral security cooperation system in the region should contribute to resolve North Korean nuclear issue, promote peace and security of the Korean peninsula, and reunify the peninsula. At the same time, it must be a mechanism not only to build mutual confidence and military transparency in the region, but also to resolve such transnational issues as terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy, pollution, and so on. Though East Asian countries do not have positive perception on multilateralism due to historical experiences, more contacts and more dialogues, however, will increase mutual understanding and cooperation, and a sense of East Asian community. That will bring multilateral security cooperation make possible in the region.