Foreign relations: Traditional or Non-traditional?

Every time we talk about foreign relations we tend to give primacy on security issues. And when we talk about security issues we tend to focus on the narrow definition of military-linked national security. As time has changed, in this new decade of the new century- we cannot afford to ignore the non-military threats which cannot be solved through merely military force. Human trafficking, pollutions, global warming, food crisis etc., are emerging paradigms and what scholars of International Relations called “non-traditional security issues”.

In April 2010, a joint seminar between CSIS and ISIS, two leading think tanks on international affairs of the United States and Malaysia has outlined some of the most urgent issues needed to be redressed.
Some of the issues addressed by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak included:-

1. The cooperation to fight global terrorism.

2. The pirates’ threat to Malacca Strait.

3. Natural disaster relief to those countries who affected by unfortunate events such as Indian Ocean tsunami and Cyclone Nargis.

4. Cross-border organized crimes such as human trafficking, and after all,

5. To relook at the issue of nuclear proliferation- achieve the noble idea on “a world without nuclear weapons” of Mr. Obama.

However, all these visions cannot be achieved just by joint forces between two countries, it needs larger cooperation involving the international community, which is best represented by the United Nations.

As we know, these new challenges know no borders, and no one nation can afford to face these challenges all by itself. Clearly, a constructive relation between Malaysia, the United States, and the United Nations is vital in facing all these challenges of our time: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease, etc. Therefore, it's time to develop a new form of foreign relation between the countries around the world. As one of the leading powers, I'm hoping to see what the United States- the administration of Barack Obama would do in curbing those issues.

May god bless America, Malaysia and the rest of the world. :-)