Commandant of Naval Command College of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Rear Admiral Han Xiaohu addresses at the "Galle Dialogue 2018," an international maritime conference held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Oct. 22, 2018. China is ready to synergize its efforts with other countries to deal with threats and challenges facing the Indian Ocean in order to maintain peace and stability in the region, a Chinese navy officer said on Monday. (Xinhua/Tang Lu)
COLOMBO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to synergize its efforts with other countries to deal with threats and challenges facing the Indian Ocean in order to maintain peace and stability in the region, a Chinese navy officer said on Monday.
Commandant of Naval Command College of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Rear Admiral Han Xiaohu made the remarks at the two-day "Galle Dialogue 2018," an international maritime conference held in Sri Lanka.
Han said the Indian Ocean region is facing non-traditional threats such as piracy, terrorism, trans-border crimes, massive natural disasters and ecological catastrophes, and the countries must work collaboratively and figure out a solution jointly.
On the basis of respecting Indian Ocean countries' core interests and great concerns, China would like to join hands with regional and non-regional countries to discuss extensively maritime security topics, and shoulder stability maintenance obligations, among others, according to Han.
He added that China also supported the international community's initiative to promote peace and stability of the Indian Ocean by pushing forward maritime information sharing, improving connectivity of maritime security facilities and perfecting maritime operation coordination so as to effectively deal with maritime security threats and challenges.
"China would like to be together with the international community to construct and maintain a free, open, inclusive and cooperative maritime order in the Indian Ocean through open, sincere and deep talks, to make equitable, rational and inclusive maritime rules on the basis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," Han said.
The Galle Dialogue conference started in 2010. This year's Galle Dialogue is held under the theme "Synergizing for Collaborative Maritime Management".
