ASIA PIVOT: China to set up Asia-Pacific security framework amid growing mistrust among its neighbours.

China has vowed to set up an Asia-Pacific security framework and continue building up its armed forces, citing complex security concerns in the region.

In its first policy white paper on Asia-Pacific security cooperation, Beijing said on Wednesday that the present security framework should be upgraded.

Military alliances in the region should be made with transparency and confrontation should be avoided, it says. It also calls for more military exchanges between China and other nations in the ­region.

“The current security structure in the region is not satisfactory, which has led to mistrust among the nations,” vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said.

Sometimes, diplomacy consists of the doggie playing nice until it has a big enough rock of its own.