ASEAN Must Not Be Distracted From Building Community By 2015

SINGAPORE (NNN-Bernama) -- Singapore said Asean must not be distracted from its goal of building an Asean Community by 2015, through the implementation of the three Community Blueprints, namely political security, economic and socio-cultural. 

In its addendum to the President's address to Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Asean must also not be distracted in preserving the grouping’s centrality in a balanced and open regional architecture.

MFA said, this was the necessary condition for strengthening Asean's relations with the major powers through Asean’s dialogue partnerships, the Asean Plus Three, the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF).

The ministry said Asean remained the republic's core interest and the cornerstone of its foreign policy.

It said building a more integrated and cohesive Asean was an overriding strategic imperative as it enhanced the grouping's economic competitiveness and gave the region a strong platform to engage key international players, especially the United States and China. -- NNN-BERNAMA