'US PRESENCE AN IMPORTANT STABILISING FORCE FOR ASIA PACIFIC'

None of today's transnational security problems can be adequately managed or solved by agencies or countries acting alone, said Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean.

Speaking at the Statesmen's Forum organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, Mr Teo shared his views on the evolving economic landscape of Asia.

He said China s and India's "economic dynamism and their move away from autarky to embrace the global economy" has resulted in a "complex web of interdependencies" developing with great vigour.

And it is because of this that Asian nations find their priorities increasingly shifting towards the creation and maintenance of strategic relationships with each other, so as to strengthen economic lines.

These strategic networks have to be matched with equally, if not more, robust security ones.

It is especially in light of "the emergence of transnational security challenges" that the urgency of multilateral security cooperation cannot be overstated.

However, Asia's security structures are recent creations and are in a state of evolution. Therefore a regional security framework "should involve extra-regional countries like the US who can make a constructive contribution to regional peace and stability".

With a window of opportunity to shape Asia's security architecture, a sustained US presence will continue to be an important stabilising force for the Asia-Pacific, said Mr Teo.

And Singapore has been working hard to achieve an "open, inclusive and rules-based security architecture in the region", along several guiding principles.

These are the belief that regional security is the collective responsibility of all regional nations; that whatever regional system put in place has to be open and inclusive; and that cooperation should be founded on mutual respect and respect for international laws, sovereignty and international norms of behaviour.

The 15 Jan lecture was delivered as part of Mr Teo's five-day official visit to the US.

As part of his visit, Minister Teo also toured the Naval Station San Diego in California. There he met with Vice-Admiral (VADM) Samuel Locklear, Commander of the Third Fleet; VADM Thomas Kilcline, Commander Naval Air Forces; and other senior US Navy commanders.

Mr Teo was shown the facilities where six Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) pilots are undergoing an aircraft qualification course to operate the S-70B naval helicopter on Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) frigates.

He had earlier visited Boeing's F-15 production plant in St Louis, Missouri, where he was given a brief on the production progress of the F-15SG fighter aircraft for the RSAF.