Singapore: China-India ties to anchor new Asia century
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-08-18 16:03

Good relations between China and India will form the foundation of a "new architecture of cooperation" bringing together East, Southeast and South Asia, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said, AFP reported.

Yeo said an inaugural East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December that will gather the leaders of 16 countries, including China and India, is important to the emergence this new regional landscape.

Asia faces three main challenges that could shape the region's future, one of them "the construction of a new architecture of cooperation in Asia itself, bringing together East, Southeast and South Asia," he said.

"This process, which will take many years, is already underway. If we succeed, the centre of the world economy will move to Asia in this century and a new East-West trade dwarfing anything which had been seen previously will come to be.

"Good relations between China and India will be the foundation of such a new architecture... The convening of the first East Asia Summit at the end of this year in Kuala Lumpur is therefore of great significance."

Yeo was speaking at an international conference in Singapore as part of activities marking the 600th anniversary of legendary Chinese mariner Zheng He's round-the-world voyages.

December's summit in the Malaysian capital will gather the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Yeo noted the recent improvements in Chinese-Indian ties, highlighted by improving trade relations and an agreement between Beijing and New Delhi on principles for settling their border dispute.

China became India's second largest trading partner last year.

"Provided we do not trip ourselves, the countries of Southeast Asia will be swept along by the re-emergence of China and India on the global stage. This Asian transformation involves more than half the world's population and will define the 21st century," he said.

The two other challenges that could affect Asia are how Chinese-US ties are managed, and achieving harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims, Yeo said.

On Sino-US ties, Yeo said it was unlikely that their rivalry will lead to war, adding that the most likely scenario would be for them to cooperate and compete at the same time.

Management of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Western China will also be important for the region's peace and economic development.

"Failure to do this will provide fertile ground for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah to carry out their activities and recruit new members," he warned.

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