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Introduction & Context

The “Peace and Security” Circle of the Asia- Europe People Forum (AEPF) is a critical
part of the Forum that collectively understands, analyses, interprets and formulates
alternative responses and actions on issues of peace, security, conflicts, threats and
opportunities in Asia and Europe as envisioned by the people’s movements of this region.

Since 2016, the world has experienced major events which are likely to greatly affect the
world’s order as well as peace and security. These events include: Brexit; Trump
becoming the US President; the rise of aggressive xenophobic leaderships in many
countries that advocate and overlook violence in order to endorse their agendas; wars,
conflicts and tension in regions as diverse as Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Palestine, the Korean
Peninsula, South China Sea/West Philippine Sea/East Sea; the non-Resolution of many
low intensity and frozen conflicts and the potential rise of ethnic and identity conflicts; etc.
Besides, increasing military spending, foreign military bases, terrorism, internal conflicts,
territorial disputes, militarization and the nuclear arms race, neo-racism, refugee crisis,
oppression of minorities and xenophobic nationalism have been threatening people’s
lives and peace and security.

A policy of confrontation, especially between NATO and Russia has increasingly
prevailed in Europe. The nuclear weapons of all nations are being modernized.

On the other hand we can also observe positive steps towards peace, such as the
incidents on the Korean Peninsula both between the US and North Korea as well as
between both Korean nations.

But we should not forget: the continuous force and spread of the terror group calling itself
the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist movements have used violence as a way of
threatening the world’s security.

In such a context, the Peace and Security Circle of the AEPF plans to coordinate with
peace movements and people’s organizations; research and scholars in academic
communities and institutions in Asia and Europe to organize various activities/ campaigns
to create effective synergies in the struggle for peace and to find the better way to
respond. The emergence of social movements that seek to find alternative solutions to
recurring as well as new problems should be encouraged.

Currently, Southeast Asia faces continued difficulties in peace and human security in the
effort of the world’s super powers to maintain economic and political hegemony
over our countries

Challenges: Reimagining a Common Security

New alternatives for a common security policy and –architecture in Europe and Asia are
urgently needed. Those alternatives should take into account the positive experiences of
the policy of détente from the 1970s and 80s. A Common Security Policy (also known as
Collective Security Policy) should serve as the basis of this new security architecture.

The term originates from the title of the Palme-report “Common Security: A Blueprint for
Survival“, which was the conclusion of the Independent Commission on Disarmament
and Security Issues (“Palme Commission”, 1980-1982) presided by Sweden’s Prime
Minister Olof Palme.

The key message of the study reads: “In the present time security cannot be achieved
one-sided. We live in a world, which economic, political, cultural and in particular military
structures are increasingly dependent of each other. The public safety of a nation cannot
be bought at the expense of other nations.”

This security philosophy developed by Willi Brandt, Bruno Kreisky, Olaf Palme and others
US based upon the principle: the security of a state can only be guaranteed if the security
of the other (the opponent) is guaranteed as well. The key principles that define this term
of common security are “interdependence”, “joint responsibility” and “security for” instead
of “security against.”

Objectives

• To analyze the current situation in the two continents and its impact on peace and
  security, as well as people’s lives.
• To analyze the current security situation in Asia and Europe and draw conclusions for
  a new security architecture.
• To develop items of a security architecture based upon the concept of a Common
  Security Policy.
• To address inhibiting as well as stimulating factors of the concept.
  To name actors and implementation strategies for a Eurasian Common Security
  concept.

Programme – First Day – September 23rd

Core Components of a New Security Architecture

10:00 – 14:00: Introductory Speeches

Opening and Moderation by Lisa Clark (IPB, Italy) and Dong Huy Cuong (Peace
and Development Foundation/AEPF, Vietnam)

Formal welcome: Introduction of AEPF, IPB, and the thematic cluster of Peace &
Security; Background and Rationale of this workshop on Common Security

1) What are the basic elements of a Common Security Policy?
by Joseph Gerson (IPB, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security, USA);
Ingar Solty (Speaker Peace & Security Policy, Rosa-Luxemburg Stiftung, Germany);
Anuradha Chenoy (Jawaharlal University, India)

2) How is the current security situation in Europe?
by Claudia Haydt (Board of the European Left, Germany) and Jordi Calvo (GCOMS,
Spain)

3) How is the current Security Situation in Asia?
by Walden Bello (Focus on the Global South and Senior research fellow for Southeast
Asian Studies of Kyoto University, Japan)

4) What are the current mechanisms to deal with peace and security?
by Mark Christopher Batac (Global Partnership for the prevention of Armed Conflict)

14:00 – 15:00: Lunch break

15:00 – 18:00: Is the Common Security Policy a realistic/useful basis for the security
architecture in Eurasia?

Commentaries from different continents:

Europe: Claudia Haydt, Erhard Crome (WeltTrends Institute for International Politics,
Germany), Tom Unterrainer (Russell Peace Foundation & CND, Great Britain) Jenny
Cegg (CND Great Britain) Jordi Calvo (Justicia i Pau, Spain)

Asia: Moon Ah-Young (Peace Educ. Policy, Peace MOMO, Korea); Suvrat Raju
(Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament & Peace, India); Yayoi Tsuchida (Japan Council
Against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs, Japan); Rabindra Adhikari (Nepal Peace & Security
Council, Nepal); Ke Jung (Indigenous Peoples Partnership, Myanmar)

Central-Asia: Eldor Aripov (Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies
under the President, Uzbekistan) Marc Batac (Global Campaign for the Prevention of
Armed Conflict and IID, Philippines) Salman Akran Raja (Pakistan Peoples’ Party, and
Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy, Pakistan) Kamal Chenoy (India)

Anastasia Lavrina (International Eurasia Press Fund, Azerbaijan), (TBC, Kazakhstan)
USA: Joseph Gerson

18:00 – 18:30: Break

18:30 – 20:00: Discussion

Policy of Détente: 1970s, 80s & today

Moderation: Amela Skiljan (IPB, Germany)
Discussion with Wolfgang Gehrcke (Former MP die Linke, Germany)

20:00 onwards
Dinner on a boat & evening programme

Programme – Second Day – September, 24th

How do we achieve a Eurasian Common Security Policy?

Facilitator: Theresa Kresse (IPB, Germany)

10:00 – 12:00: Introduction – What could be the core components of a common security policy
for Eurasia?

Asian perspective: Lee Junkyu (Center for Peace Research, Korea); Au Loong (Borderless
HK, China) & Suzuyo Takazato (All Okinawa Coalition to Prevent Construction of a New Base
in Henoko, Japan)

European perspective: Reiner Braun (IPB, Germany)

US perspective: Joseph Gerson

12:00 – 13:00: Break

13:00 – 14:45 Continuation of commentaries from different countries

14:45 – 15:35 Working Group Session – Question/issues to be discussed in 3 separate groups:

1. What could be the core components of a Common Security Policy for Eurasia?
2. How does the process toward achieving a Common Security Policy look like?
3. What is the role and responsibility of big and small countries?
4. Implementation and reaching of agreements
5. Developing Conflict Solutions – Case Studies (Conflict India/Pakistan and China/Vietnam)
Report back of working group sessions (one facilitator and moderator per group)

16:00 – 18:00: Panel Discussion

How does the process towards achieving a Common Security Policy look like?
Next steps and controversies

Europe: Kathrin Vogler (MP die Linke, Germany), Joseph Gerson, Michael Müller (Former
state secretary of the ministry of environment, SPD, Germany), Jenny Clegg (CND, UK) &
Roland Kulke (Transform! Europe, Belgium)

Asia: Anuradha Chenoy, Au Loong & Cristine Ebro (AEPF, Philippines)

Implementation and reaching of agreements

Corazon Fabrios (AEPF, IPB, Philippines), Reiner Braun & Dong Huy Coung

18:00 onwards: Dinner and evening program

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