Singapore to U.S.: Take long view on China<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
\nhas urged the administration of President George W. Bush to "take
\nthe long view" as it forges a new strategic relationship with
\nChina and to take care not to be seen as trying to keep the
\nChinese people "down."<\/p>\n
He also stressed the need for the United States to remain
\nengaged in politically-shaken Indonesia and to intensify its
\ninvolvement in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Goh's advice, in a speech on Tuesday night to an overflow
\ncrowd of diplomats and American businessmen, took the form of a
\nserious strategic review by one of the region's most respected
\nanalysts.<\/p>\n
It appeared to reflect deep unease in Asia over some of the
\nmore hardline tendencies toward Beijing manifested by some
\nelements of the Bush administration as China undergoes a
\nleadership transition.<\/p>\n
Goh underscored that the younger generation who will someday
\nlead China are "less set in their ways," lack a "communist
\nmindset," are "more exposed to the West and the world," and "have
\nabsorbed new ideas and values."<\/p>\n
"As the U.S. grapples with the kind of strategic relationship
\nit wants with China, it must take the long view," he told the
\nU.S.-ASEAN Business Council annual dinner in Washington.<\/p>\n
Goh said if China grows and plays by international rules on
\nissues such as weapons proliferation, international trade,
\nfreedom of navigation and environmental protection, "it can
\nbecome a constructive player."<\/p>\n
U.S.-China relations have periodically gone through rocky and
\ntense times since the Chinese military cracked down on pro-
\ndemocracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989.<\/p>\n
They plunged anew in April when China detained a U.S. Air
\nForce crew that crash-landed its surveillance plane on Hainan
\nIsland after colliding with a Chinese jet fighter.<\/p>\n
The crew was eventually released unharmed and China recently
\nagreed to return the plane, albeit in pieces.<\/p>\n
The United States must remain in Asia to provide balance as
\nChina grows, he said. So too must the United States focus
\nincreased attention on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN).<\/p>\n
The group proved ineffective when Asia was hit by the 1997-
\n1999 financial crisis but still it offers a "unique framework for
\ncontaining centrifugal forces that could otherwise destabilize
\nthe region," Goh said.<\/p>\n
For one thing, ASEAN has changed the political context of U.S.
\nengagement in Southeast Asia by formally inviting Washington to
\njoin it in discussing regional affairs, he said.<\/p>\n
He urged Washington to remain engaged in Indonesia, which is
\nembroiled in turmoil that may be on the verge of toppling
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid, the third leader since 1998.<\/p>\n
"When the political situation in Indonesia stabilizes, the
\nU.S. with its friends and allies, must help Indonesia regain its
\nconfidence," including improving ties with the World Bank and
\nencouraging investors to revisit the country, he said.<\/p>\n
During the financial crisis, a senior Clinton official, whom
\nGoh did not name, told Singapore Indonesia needed "discontinuity"
\n-- to replace long-serving president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Singapore replied that the best change was gradual and no
\nsuccessor would be as strong as Soeharto to enforce tough IMF
\nconditions needed to reform the economy and halt the freefall.<\/p>\n
But Soeharto was forced out, the country is nearing chaos and
\nIndonesia is "now living the consequences of discontinuity," Goh
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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