From the Shanghai Daily: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen caught some people by surprise at the weekend with his call for the North Atlantic alliance to turn itself into a global security forum with increased ties with China, India and certain other countries…

Many at NATO headquarters believe that it makes sense for the Western alliance to start serious talks on security cooperation with the Asian countries given the global nature of 21st century threats such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, cyber threats, piracy and climate change…

Whether the Asia powers would want to go that far remains to be seen. But both China and India have been increasing contacts in recent years. NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero visited Beijing in November 2009, the first such visit by such a high-ranking alliance official.

During his visit, he suggested a series of "step-by-step" moves to boost relations, such as talks between military staff and exchanges of speakers at military training academies.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s attendance at this year’s Munich Security Conference marked a first for a Chinese foreign minister. (photo: Harald Dettenborn)