Excerpts from the Media Conference by PM Lee Hsien Loong on the 17th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

PM Lee Hsien Loong: We are hosting the APEC Leaders meeting next week.  It is the first time we are hosting a leaders’ meeting although we hosted a meeting of APEC before it became elevated to the leaders’ level and we are proud to have the chance to do so now. This is the culmination of more than a hundred meetings which Singapore has hosted since we took over the chairmanship this year.  It is taking place at the pivotal moment in the global economy.  There are encouraging signs of recovery but economic outlook remains uncertain.

The short term measures to deal with the economic situation have been discussed at other forums.  We will be focusing on the longer term issues as we emerge from the recession – we will be discussing how to work together to foster growth in the region, specifically more balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth in the region and also how we can further the economic integration of the Asia-Pacific.

Q: This meeting takes place after the G20 Summit in Pittsburg and it will be an opportunity for us to sustain the momentum for reform in the Asia-Pacific region which is one of the fastest growing regions in Can you sum up what the Singapore Government's view is on the proposed role of the US in an East Asian Community?

PM Lee: Our view has always been...America plays an indispensable role in Asia, in many fields: economic, political, strategic, security. And that is one of the reasons why APEC is an important forum... APEC is the grouping which straddles both sides of the Pacific and involves the US in Asia-Pacific affairs.

It remains the largest and most vibrant economy in the world, it is the superpower; people talk about a multipolar world, but de facto the US is the most powerful nation in the world and will be so for some time to come.

(For) Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who talks about an East Asia Community, has also explained the link between US and Japan is vital, and I think all participants acknowledge that it is important for Asia, while it is working on regional cooperation, to also maintain an open and an inclusive framework of cooperation which does not exclude the US and does not exclude Europe.

Q: What is your assessment of the change in the relationship between China and the US?

PM Lee: I think that China and the US have had generally a positive, constructive relationship over the years. It has had its ups and downs. There have been difficult times, there have been frictions.

And very often at the beginning of the US administration there has been a difficult running-in period. Because the new administration wants to pursue a policy which is distinguished from the policy of its predecessor... but eventually every US president, whether Democrat or Republican, has decided that there is tremendous US interest at stake in maintaining a good, stable relationship with China.

In the case of this Obama administration, I think there has been no clashing of gears. In fact (US Secretary of State) Mrs Hillary Clinton made her first overseas visit to Asia including China, and from our point of view that is entirely for their good and we hope that this will provide a stable framework for other countries in the region to be friends both with China and with America.

Q: President Barack Obama will be here for the first time. What will be your message to him and what would you like his message to be for the region?

PM Lee: Well, our message to him is that the US has many friends and many interests in the region. We welcome them as a partner and we hope that we will be able to strengthen the relationship with the US and they will play a major role in the Asia Pacific.

And I hope his message to the region is that he will want the US to play this role and that they will be engaged and it will not just be on trade but also on economic cooperation as well as on security as well as political issues and cultural issues. It will be a broad engagement.

Q: Will the Myanmar Prime Minister be attending this summit and, in the light of better engagement between the US and Myanmar, how do you think discussion on issues like the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's democracy process will take place in the summit?

PM Lee: I have not had the latest report but I expect Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein to attend the ASEAN summit. He is usually the Myanmar leader who attends ASEAN summits. I think this is a very significant step forward because it is the first time we are having a US-ASEAN Summit with all 10 of the ASEAN countries participating.

It is a good sign because it means the US has shifted its position and is now moving to engage Myanmar and I think Myanmar is engaging...and this is all very good because our view has always been that ostracising Myanmar and cutting it off altogether is not the constructive way forward. This is unlikely to yield any results. Engaging is not going to yield immediate results either because this is a complex situation and there is no easy solution in Myanmar.

They have embarked on a course of what they call the seven-step road map to democratisation. They are having elections next year, they are preparing for the elections next year and I think we should encourage them along this track and help them where we can to ensure that the elections are a success.

Aung San Suu Kyi, I think ASEAN's view is clear and we have always said that we believe she ought to be released and I am sure this will be discussed in the US-ASEAN summit too and I am sure both sides will state their views.

Q: Next year marks one of the deadlines of the Bogor goals, adopted by APEC in 1994 to attain free trade in the Asia Pacific by 2010 for developed countries and 2020 for developing ones. How well do you think APEC has done in achieving its goals so far? And the moratorium on new members implemented in 1997 expires next year - has there been any discussion about extending it or lifting it to let new members join?

PM Lee: I think the countries have made some progress towards the Bogor goals. I am sure that we have not quite achieved everything which was envisioned when we said by 2010 the developed countries will have attained free trade within Asia Pacific.

Within the last couple of years, because of the economic circumstances, in fact, some backward steps have been taken, because conditions have been hard and people have had to make concessions for political pressures and realities.

But I think it is a benchmark to measure ourselves against and if we have not quite achieved all of it, well, I think we have to encourage ourselves to go further.

The moratorium we have not discussed, whether we will extend it or which countries to bring in, not yet.

Q: Are you expecting any kind of disruption from civil society groups?

PM Lee: No, I am not expecting any disruption. The IMF-World Bank meeting has, as part of its normal processes, an engagement with the civil society groups. APEC does not have such an arrangement and we are not expecting to have that this time.

The rules for civil society and for public demonstrations in Singapore are known and we are not changing them for this APEC meeting. Security is important. We are very concerned about this and we will make sure we do our best to have a safe and uneventful meeting.

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