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 Strait as the best thing for the region, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)