SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged Southeast Asian leaders to manage potential flashpoints carefully to preserve regional peace and stability.
He said the security environment has been stable but warned that peace cannot be taken for granted.
Mr Lee made these points when he addressed world leaders on the final day of the ASEAN Summit in Bali.
With
the United States and Russia now part of the East Asia Summit (EAS),
Prime Minister Lee noted that the forum now accounts for more than half
of the world's population and gross domestic product.
The EAS also plays an important role in building a stable, prosperous and peaceful Asia-Pacific community.
Mr Lee believes that after six years, it's useful to review its role.
One aspect that can be looked into is strengthening the mechanisms to follow up on decisions made by the leaders.
The leaders also noted the significant progress seen in ASEAN's dialogue process with India.
The continent is now ASEAN's sixth largest trading partner.
Next
year, the ASEAN-India dialogue will mark 20 years of achievements with a
special event in the Indian capital, New Delhi, as well as the
ASEAN-India Car Rally.
The 19th Asean Summit in Bali may be over
but much work lies ahead for ministers and officials, especially in the
area of ASEAN connectivity.
That's because there's little time left before the target to achieve the ASEAN community vision by 2015.
- CNA/cc
believes in him.especially when he would lose his job when peace fails in spore.