Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei): China says disputes with neighbouring countries over territorial land and water are no longer an "obstacle" for them to develop co- operation and good-neighbourly relations and to jointly build regional security.

A position paper on the new Security Concept as propagated by China for which it is seeking international support said Beijing was "vigorously" seeking settlement of disputes with its neighbours through peaceful negotiations.

The border dispute between India and China is among other vexed issues unresolved so far.

The paper was circulated at the just-concluded annual conference of the security grouping of 23 Western and Asian nations under the aegis of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

As for the outstanding disputes and issues, China has reached a consensus with the parties concerned to maintain peace and stability in the disputed areas and resolve the issues through peaceful means, it said, adding China has "resolved" the land boundary question with most of its neighbouring countries.

The paper said China was working for the establishment and development of a regional security dialogue and co-operation mechanism. It believed that the key guarantee for Asia-Pacific security comes from a regional security framework featuring dialogue instead of confrontation.

China's new security concept seeks to "rise above one-sided security and promote common security" through mutually beneficial cooperation.

PTI