PM Lee: Japan needs 'trust and confidence' of neighbours

JAPAN should establish relations of "trust and confidence" with its neighbours in order to preserve stability in Asia, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview published today by Japan's Nikkei newspaper on the eve of his visit to Tokyo, where he will be the keynote speaker in the Nikkei annual conference.

The prime minister rejected suggestions during the interview that the US presence in Asia is decreasing, while also acknowledging that China's presence in the region is growing. This will "call for shift and adjustment in the balance and in the relationship between China and America," he suggested.

Japan and Asean will need to "get used to this new arrangement and find a new role to play in this new balance", Mr Lee said. Closer ties among Asean nations within the Asean Economic Community will allow the South-east Asian grouping to better act as a balancing factor.