The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs the engagement of key strategic players, like China, India, the United States and Japan, in the region, said Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang here Monday,

Speaking at a seminar on the theme of "a new stage for Asian economic integration", Lim said that to ride on China's economic growth and prosper by working with it would be the key for the region.

"China's efforts to engage ASEAN through the ASEAN-China FTA ( free trade agreement) are a reflection of its own intentions for greater regional cooperation, and which is welcome by all in the region," Lim said.

India, which has also seen significant increases in economic growth and foreign direct investment in recent years, is another key player in the region, according to the minister.

"India will serve to complement China's growth and provide further fuel to the phenomenal economic development in the Asian region, (which is) all the more reason why East Asia must remain inclusive and engage more players in our quest for economic integration," he said.

As for the U.S. and Japan, the first and second largest economies in the world, Lim said that they will remain major trading partners and investors for many regional countries and thus key players in the region.

"We must find a way to integrate all of these key strategic players into a regional framework that will benefit all of us. This should be based on cooperation and peaceful competition," Lim said.

Meanwhile, he also stressed the importance of greater internal integration among ASEAN members, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, in achieving the "true pan-Asian regional integration."

The seminar was organized by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and the Japan External Trade Organization.

Source: Xinhua