SINGAPORE - It would be a mistake to think that Asean is interested in doing business with any one major power exclusively, said former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo on Tuesday.
“It does not mean that because we are close to China, we are not close to them. In fact, it is the opposite. The closer we are to China, the more we see our accounts growing, the more uncomfortable we are that our economy will be circumscribed.”Mr Yeo, a visiting scholar with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, made these points on the regional bloc during a keynote address that opened the annual Regional Outlook Forum.
In his address, Mr Yeo also underscored the role that the Asean can play in global affairs by helping to break down barriers and facilitate discussions. Under Indonesia’s watch, the G-20, where US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had theirHe added: “This is the kind of role that Asean can play. Not by interposing itself, by saying ‘we are right, you are wrong, and this is how the world should be’. But just by being gracious, by showing respect, by nodding, by acknowledging.