Finally, Canada sees healthy growth of a vibrant civil society in many of the ARF member countries and regards this as a particularly promising development. While we may be enjoying a welcome respite from open conflict and some real progress in terms of building national and regional capacities, there remain difficulties and even steps backward. There has also been a serious challenge to the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime because of the testing by India and Pakistan in 1998. Canada remains concerned that the initiation of a nuclear and ballistic missile arms race in South Asia has not only increased the vulnerability of the states themselves but puts the entire region at risk. If the barely contained hostilities break into full scale war the threat of disaster through accident or miscalculation is very great indeed.
Preventive diplomacy is called fore .
The Way Ahead Identification of the new security agenda has begun and we should use the periods of relative quiet to build our capacity to deal with the problem areas. The ARF has a special role in helping to identify areas that are not being adequately addressed and promoting solutions. Since the ARF is essentially a forum for discussion and not an organization with operational responsibilities, it should focus on strengthening what it does best -building confidence and trust, strengthening networks of understanding and cooperation, training, encouraging the activities of other organizations, and focusing political attention on areas of need.