Asia territory spats damaging to trade: Eng Hen

[SINGAPORE] The risk of territorial disputes damaging trade in Asia is "very real" and the region must focus on shoring up economic links as well as security ties, according to Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.

"It's completely artificial to think that there are somehow firewalls between trade and security," Dr Ng, 55, said on Tuesday in an interview at the Ministry of Defence. "We shouldn't, from a security point of view, be dominating headlines every few other days and I don't think it's necessarily a positive if this continues for the region. At some point, it may impact trade and our real economies."

Mr Ng was speaking after a weekend forum of defence ministers and military leaders in Singapore, where the US and China openly criticised each other over their agenda in the region and China's claims over large parts of the East China Sea and South China Sea dominated discussion. The meeting highlighted the growing pains in Asia as China emerges as a military and economic power, challenging decades of US dominance.