Asia's diversity in culture, ethnicity, religions, ideology, environment, history, economy and systems of governance is without parallel. Consequently, conflict is endemic. Going hand in hand with conflict is multi-faceted competition. At one level, it is for resources: the emerging economies of the Asia Pacific, South and South East Asia compete for energy and mineral resources with developed countries, including USA, Europe, Japan and South Korea. Economic growth and continued development of Asia as a whole are contingent upon security and stability, without which precious resources will inevitable be expended in conflict. The contingent's lynchpin is South East Asia, connecting the Indian and the Pacific Oceans and linking the Middle East and South Asia with the Asia Pacific and Australia. Given the proven limitations of the UNSC in handling various situations, there is pressing need for a regional infrastructure to deal with security matters, including both traditional and non-traditional threats. It is for the nations whose interests are most affected to work together to build a comprehensive Pan Asian security mechanism, dispelling the apprehensions of the continent's inhabitants and creating the capability to handle their own affairs. This book aims to bring out need for a holistic, overarching Indo-Pacific security system and generate ideas on how it should be developed.
