by Eng Kok Thay

At a moment of profound global turbulence, China's Global Security Initiative (GSI) offers a principled and genuinely multilateral alternative to improve global security governance models.

China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, together with the Global Development Initiative, the GSI, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, echoes the trend of history and responds to the longing of people around the world for a better life.

China has always been working on promoting regional and world peace and development. Over the past decade, China has launched several international initiatives that offer an alternative approach to regional security, one that differs markedly from traditional Western models.

In advocating the GSI, China is injecting Chinese wisdom into the reform of global security, and promoting world peace and development within the ambit of international law and the United Nations Charter. A more balanced global security governance system must place the United Nations at its center, respect all nations' core interests, and treat security as a shared and indivisible good.

Unilateral coercion and arms races have demonstrably produced the instability we see today. The conflict between the United States and Iran represents one of the most consequential ruptures to global stability in recent memory.

U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran that began in February 2026 have left enormous damage, with thousands dead and millions displaced across the region. The long-term implications are deeply troubling on multiple fronts.

Investor confidence has come under pressure, war-risk surcharges have risen amid the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and regional markets have recorded losses -- with the energy sector particularly exposed to infrastructure targeting and disruptions to export routes. This directly threatens the energy security of Asia-Pacific nations, which depend heavily on Gulf oil flows.

More broadly, the war reflects what critics have long warned: unilateral military action outside the framework of the United Nations Charter creates cascading instability.

Only by implementing UN resolutions, establishing regional security mechanisms, and pursuing comprehensive dialogue can the Middle East escape its cycle of violence. This precisely echoes the principles at the heart of China's GSI -- that security is indivisible, and dialogue and consultation are the effective ways to resolve disputes.

As the Iran war intensifies energy and geopolitical pressures globally, the international community should look to multilateral, dialogue-based frameworks rather than unilateral coercion to restore regional order.

Editor's note: Eng Kok Thay is a secretary of state of Cambodia's Council of Ministers.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.