Sino-US relations will determine the future of the Asia-Pacific region and it is in the interests of the regional countries to see friendly relations between the two countries, a senior Singapore official said.
The comment was made by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Tony Tan Keng Yam in his keynote speech at the inaugural Asia Pacific Security Conference organized by Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies.
"How the relationship between the United States and China develops will determine the strategic environment in the 21st Century -- certainly in the Asia Pacific region, and perhaps even globally," Tony Tan said.
Noting that the US is the sole superpower which is overwhelmingly more powerful than any other nation or group of nations today and China is a rising power, he said, "how these two countries deal with each other, whether they co-exist and cooperate or the relationship is tense and confrontational, will determine the future of the Asia-Pacific region."
A positive cooperative Sino-US relationship will provide a stable environment and enable sustained development for the region, the Singapore defense minister said. A negative confrontational relationship between the two countries will bring tension and instability, he added.
"It is therefore in the interests of all regional countries to see friendly relations between the US and China," Tony Tan stressed.
The Singapore minister also emphasized that "the role of countries such as Japan and India will also help to shape the Asia-Pacific strategic environment and these countries have the strategic weight to make a difference -- whether they act in concert with others to help maintain stability and peace, or try to assert themselves."
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2002)
