STABILITY IN THE REGION CRUCIAL FOR THE ASIAN CENTURY: DR NG

To realise the great promises of Asia in the 21st century - also known as the Asian century - peace and stability in the region must be maintained or Asia's rise could be derailed.

This point was made by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen with regard to the growth of China, India, ASEAN and other Asian countries in his speech on "The Asian Century" at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) National Defence University (NDU) on 13 Nov.

Speaking to an audience comprising about 100 students from the Graduate School of the PLA NDU, Dr Ng also talked about the important relationship between Singapore and China, and China's leadership role.

"By virtue of its strategic global weight, China has a crucial role to play in maintaining peace and stability in the region, and indeed globally. It is thus heartening that China has been actively engaging regional countries in the political, economic and defence realms, and has been a responsible and active player in the regional security architecture," he said.

In the light of commemorating 25 years of diplomatic relations next year, Dr Ng noted that Singapore and China have developed a strong bilateral relationship through joint projects and initiatives such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-city. He added that a third Government-to-Government project between Singapore and China is in the works for the Western region of China.

Said Dr Ng: "Similarly, I hope that the defence relationship between our two countries will grow in tandem. To achieve stronger military-to-military ties, General (GEN) Chang Wanquan and I will discuss new initiatives to enhance dialogue and mutual understanding through regular high-level exchanges."

He added: "Singapore would also like to propose more regular and larger joint training exercises to promote confidence building and mutual trust between the PLA and the SAF."

On the region's great potential for growth, Dr Ng warned against being complacent and to watch for the risks and challenges faced within Asia. Noting that there have been several near-miss incidents in the past year, he said: "Tensions in the South China Sea have also escalated periodically with the series of actions and reactions taken by various parties from time to time. Such developments are all the more worrying as rapid economic growth in Asia has also led to a rise in defence spending and capability development."

Dr Ng was thankful that the leaders of the United States, China and Japan met up on the sidelines of the economic leaders' meeting this week and hoped that this was a sign of improving relations and an assurance of regional stability in Northeast Asia.

In closing, he said: "Asia's prosperity is intrinsically intertwined with China's and the rest of the world. It is my hope that China will continue to participate and contribute actively to the region, taking a leadership role to create conditions of lasting peace and stability."

To date, Dr Ng's seven-day trip to China, which began on 8 Nov, included visits to Exercise Cooperation 2014 at Nanjing, Bayi Nanchang Uprising Museum at Nanchang and the PLA Navy's North Sea Fleet at Qingdao. He also met PLA NDU Political Commissar GEN Liu Yazhou, and called on Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao and Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman, GEN Xu Qiliang.