Int'l experts provide insights into security, development at feature activity of Xiangshan Forum

Experts and scholars from home and abroad on Thursday provided their insights into security and development in high-end interviews, a feature activity of the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

Under the theme of Promoting Peace for a Shared Future, the three-day forum is underway in Beijing with its opening ceremony to be held on Friday.

On Thursday morning, 12 domestic and foreign experts engaged in discussions and exchanges on six topics, including the Global Security Initiative, the Global South, international rules, security in the Asia-Pacific, China-U.S. relations and security in Europe.

Some experts at the forum shared their perspectives on international relations and regional security in an interview with China Central Television.

"For China, we should resolutely defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and at the same time, do more to promote regional security cooperation. We should resolve regional disputes through dialogue and peaceful consultation, and support ASEAN's central role in the regional security architecture, in order to contribute more to our common efforts to maintain regional peace, stability and development," Tong Zhen, an expert from the Academy of Military Sciences said.

With a focus on cooperation and peaceful dialogue, some experts underscored the importance of preventative measures in achieving lasting peace.

"So I think China being a very powerful country, a very powerful economy and a big country with a big population, China can make a platform for us to talk freely to each other. Prevention is better than kill. We all wait until something happened and then come to resolve it. No, we need to try and prevent," said Jayanath Colombage, ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia and ASEAN.

"We don't need war, we need development and development brings us peace," said Lawrence M. Friedman, a U.S. legal historian.

The forum will feature four plenary sessions, eight simultaneous special sessions and six seminars, as well as special academic activities such as leading experts' dialogue, young military officers' and scholars' seminar, and a "Shanghai Cooperation Organization+" young scholars' salon.

Official delegations from more than 90 countries, regions and international organizations will attend the forum. The number and level of participants have exceeded all previous years with increasingly wider representation.

Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level security and defense forum in Asia-Pacific with significant international influence.

Int'l experts provide insights into security, development at feature activity of Xiangshan Forum

Int'l experts provide insights into security, development at feature activity of Xiangshan Forum

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his country has not sent hypersonic missiles to Yemen's Houthi group.

The president made the remarks at a press conference in Tehran, in response to a question from an Al Jazeera news network reporter who quoted political experts saying that Iran has supplied hypersonic missiles, or the technology to develop them, to the Houthis.

Iran has hypersonic missiles, but not of the same kind that the Houthis possess, Pezeshkian said, adding that the Houthis themselves had developed the missiles over time.

It is impossible for Iran to send missiles to Yemen covertly when it takes more than a week just to send solely human forces to the country, he said.

Pezeshkian said that Iran and the Houthis have worked together against Israel's "genocide" in Gaza, and stressed that the international community should condemn the crimes against humanity committed by Israel.

"If [the Western] countries are worried about the security of Israel, why are they not concerned about the security of Gaza Strip, the security of Palestine and innocent people? Civilized countries and supporters of human rights should not allow power to bomb and kill innocent civilians while simultaneously accusing Iran of supplying missiles to Yemen's Houthis," said Pezeshkian.

On Iran-U.S. relations, Pezeshkian emphasized Iran's pursuit of peace over conflict and clarified that Iran has no intentions of building nuclear weapons.

However, he said, the U.S. has chosen to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and made threats against Iran. The possibility of a relaxation in strained relations between the two sides hinges on the U.S. dropping its animosity towards Iran and revoking its extensive sanctions against the country, he said.

"We don't want to start a war, but the U.S. wants to impose wars on us. If the U.S. is willing to respect Iran's rights, we will not engage in conflict with the U.S. or any other party. We hope to develop safely in our own country without the U.S. undermining Iran's security or threaten and humiliate Iran. we will never accept humiliation," Pezeshkian said.

Iran has not sent hypersonic missiles to Yemen's Houthis: President Pezeshkian