Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was upbeat about
relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), and believed the all-round development of ties
will benefit the whole region and the world.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Lee said relations between
China and ASEAN had developed rapidly since the establishment of
regular dialogue between the two sides 15 years ago. Comprehensive
progress had since been made in various fields of cooperation, he
added.
The progress, he said, covered the fields of trade, investment,
education, culture, security and politics. But China and the
regional bloc should pay more attention to the negotiations on the
services and investment chapter, he added.
ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, groups Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar and Cambodia.
Lee said China's economic development had created many
opportunities for ASEAN and both sides had actively participated in
each other's growth.
"For the past 15 years, we have made a lot of progress because
ASEAN has seen China's development as a positive trend for the
whole region, and in fact, for the whole world. It is also positive
for ASEAN because we have been able to participate in China's
growth and have invested in China," he said.
Lee praised the two sides for their efforts to strengthen
dialogue on strategic and security issues and improve mutual
understanding and trust.
He believed the most important things were mutual respect, trust
and care for each other's interests. So the two sides should
continue to deepen and broaden their relations based on mutual
benefits, he said.
Citing the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area
(CAFTA), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South
China Sea and the China-ASEAN regional dialogue forum, Lee said the
two sides already had important measures in place to increase
cooperation and confidence building.
Singapore, although it was the smallest of the 10 ASEAN member
states, was willing to play a constructive role in promoting the
China-ASEAN relationship, the prime minister pledged.
"We believe that if China and ASEAN have a good relationship,
Singapore will benefit from this, so we would like to foster this
relationship and help move forward this friendship," he said.
Talking about bilateral relations between Singapore and China,
the prime minister said the two countries had maintained a very
good relationship since the establishment of diplomatic ties in
1990.
Singapore and China could now understand each other well, and
their fundamental interests would not confront, he said.
Lee reiterated Singapore's commitment to the one-China
principle, saying that his country had always supported it and had
been opposed to any attempts to bring about "Taiwan
independence."
Singapore viewed cooperation and peace across the Taiwan Straits
as the best thing for the region, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)