The EU's philosophy is that threats must be prevented early on from becoming sources of conflict. Developed and developing countries alike are coping with the dangers and insecurities brought in the wake of globalisation, along with the new found opportunities it also creates for us all.

The EU is looking forward to discussing both traditional and new security threats at the ARF meeting, ranging from terrorist attacks to the need to reduce nuclear arsenals and prevent more countries from acquiring nuclear weapons; to natural disasters likely to be caused by climate change.

We should look at oil and gas supplies, piracy and failed states. None of these threats stop at national borders and all of them are as relevant to our Asian partners as they are to the European Union.

The EU is making its mark in helping to create a more secure world and we can and must work closely with Asia in this. We will continue to support concrete, action-oriented cooperation focussed not only on confidence-building measures but also on conflict resolution.

Over the past decade, under the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), we have deployed more than 20 operations in response to crises in Europe, Africa and Asia. These range from the successful post-tsunami peace-building mission in Aceh, Indonesia, where we worked closely and very successfully with participating ASEAN nations, to our first-ever naval task force, Operation EU NAVFOR Atalanta, fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia. We currently have another mission in Asia, training and mentoring the Afghan police.

Lasting solutions to conflict must bind together all regional players with a common stake in peace. This is what the European project is about and this is what our deepening relationship with Asia is about.

We firmly believe that strong ties between different regional groups in the world are crucial for global peace and security. We are committed to stepping up our engagement in Asia's regional integration processes, including the East Asia Summit.

We share with you a vision that by 2020 the Asia-Pacific region will be an area of lasting peace, stability, friendship and prosperity based on a foundation of mutual trust, where preventive diplomacy pursues the ultimate goal of conflict resolution. It is vital, especially for the ARF, to make this vision a political reality.

(Javier Solana is the EU foreign policy chief)