U.S.-S'pore FTA shouldn't be allowed to disturb ASEAN

U.S.-S'pore FTA shouldn't be allowed to disturb ASEAN

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday that neighboring Singapore's free-trade agreement with the United States should not be allowed to interfere with deals among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

U.S. President George W. Bush and Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Tuesday signed a bilateral agreement in Washington that would wipe out tariffs and other trade barriers on about US$33 billion in annual trade.

If approved by U.S. Congress, Singapore would become the first Asian nation to have such a duty-free arrangement with the United States.

Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving elected leader, said he did not dispute Singapore's right to such an agreement.

"If they want to have any agreement with anybody, it is their business, not ours," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama. "Singapore is a foreign country, it is a free country. We do not impose anything on foreign countries."

Asked about the potential impact of the agreement on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Mahathir said: "As far as we are concerned, we are ASEAN and we are not going to allow anything extraneous to interfere with (the) ASEAN grouping."

ASEAN, founded in 1967 to strengthen regional economic ties, comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

The regional grouping plans to establish a free trade area among its members countries, and has signed framework agreements with China and Japan.