VITAL FOR US AND EUROPE TO CONTINUE STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT IN ASIA

"It is important that US and Europe continue this strategic engagement in Asia to build cooperation and constructive partnerships so that we can continue to address pressing global problems together."

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen made this point when he spoke at a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), on 4 Feb.

Held from 3 to 5 Feb, the MSC is a high-level conference attended by heads of government, defence and foreign ministers, parliamentarians, military leaders and security experts.

During the conference, Dr Ng took part in a panel discussion with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Zhijun, US Senator John McCain, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd and European Union Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michael Barnier. Moderated by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the participants shared their thoughts on "America, Europe and the Rise of Asia".

Speaking from the security perspective of Singapore, which he called a "small nation state", Dr Ng made three distinct points in his presentation. Through these three points, Dr Ng showed why it was important for the US and Europe to have continued engagement in Asia.

His first point was that Asia was expected to do better than the rest of the world and would increase its strategic weight.

Said Dr Ng: "According to the IMF, by 2015, Asia will be comparable in size to the economies of the US and Europe combined. By 2030, Asia with its growing middle class will account for more than 40% of global output." These and other figures he cited were indicators that European states could not afford to be disengaged from the region.

His next point was that an inclusive security architecture was needed to accommodate rising aspirations and interests of individual countries in the Asia- Pacific region.

"ASEAN, and Singapore as one of its members, have actively pushed for an inclusive regional security architecture. We must re-double our efforts in existing fora that facilitate dialogue and cooperation such as the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the Shangri-La Dialogue," said Dr Ng.

Dr Ng's last point was that, compared to the European Union and US, many countries in Asia were relatively "young", having gained independence in the second half of the last century, and their institutions were still evolving. It was therefore important that the US and Europe continue their strategic engagement in Asia "so that we can continue to address pressing global problems together", said Dr Ng.

Citing the example of 400 million people being lifted out of poverty in the last two decades in China, Dr Ng made reference to the large populations in the Asia-Pacific region and how the motivation to benefit for good should further encourage focus to redouble efforts on that strategic engagement.

During the three-day conference, other topics such as the European security developments, new security parameters such as energy, resources and the environment, the implications of the financial crisis for international security, developments in the Middle East and cybersecurity, were discussed.

This was Dr Ng's first attendance at the MSC. On the sidelines of the conference, he had bilateral meetings with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd, German Federal Defence Minister Thomas de Maizi re, Italian Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola, Swedish Defence Minister Carl Bildt and the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence The Right Honourable Philip Hammond MP.

Dr Ng also held a joint meeting with US lawmakers, including Senator John McCain and Senator Joe Lieberman.