The way in which some Western media outlets have reported on the 19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium hosted by China in Qingdao, Shandong province, from Sunday to Wednesday only exposes that they have missed the point. They have tried to portray the gathering of high-level delegations from 29 countries as being merely an occasion for Beijing to attempt to defend itself against the allegations of the West, which accuses it of making “dangerous, irresponsible, bullying, provocative and coercive” moves targeting its smaller neighbors in the South and East China seas.
These reports originate from the media outlets’ biased view that Beijing is the root cause of the security threats in the region. They are not only a deliberate distortion of the truth; more importantly, they fail to convey the practical significance of the forum. China has nothing to feel sorry about when it comes to defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity and core interests in the Asia-Pacific, and it has no need to defend its actions to that effect. The real value of the symposium is that it provides a rare platform for major countries related to not only the security of the Asia-Pacific, but also the rest of the world, to have face-to-face communications on core issues of global concern.
Although details of most of these exchanges between the key stakeholders remain unknown, their presence at the forum, and the forum’s agenda, which reportedly has been widely welcomed by the majority of the participants, should serve to prove that the participating countries are open to talks and face-to-face communications on key issues of common concern. Instead of misportraying the Qingdao naval symposium, the Western media has enough reasons to report on it accurately.
In a volatile world that has not seen such a meaningful and pragmatic solution-oriented multilateral gathering at the executive level for so long, the collective willingness displayed by the participating countries to exchange views and seek common ground to ease regional tensions and explore ways to resolve some hotspot issues is a positive and welcome sign. China deserves credit for inviting, hosting and encouraging these otherwise not-talking-with-each-other guests to engage in constructive discussions about meaningful topics, avoiding the event from becoming another bickering shop between different blocs. That is why the symposium is being keenly followed by countries far beyond the Asia-Pacific, despite the efforts of some Western media to belittle it.
