Russia plays a valuable role in maintaining regional peace and stability, says PM Lee

SINGAPORE — SINGAPORE — Although Russia is not a geographical neighbour of South-east Asia, it is a significant player in the Asia Pacific region and plays an important role in maintaining peace and stability, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday (May 20).

Mr Lee, who was speaking during the plenary session of a summit commemorating the 20th anniversary of Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nations)-Russia dialogue relations held in Sochi, said that Singapore welcomes Russia as a dialogue partner because it has a “valuable role to play in upholding the region’s peace and stability”.

“Russia has been a valuable participant of the Asean Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM)-Plus, particularly by co-chairing the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Military Medicine,” he said, adding that Moscow has also been active in engaging Asean in non-traditional security cooperation including counter-terrorism and combatting transnational crime.

The ADMM-Plus — which include all 10 Asean member states and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States — is a platform for practical cooperation, as well as confidence and capacity building among the defence establishments in the Asia Pacific.

Besides being a member of ADMM-Plus, Russia also participates in other Asean-led regional mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit and Asean Regional Forum. 

Mr Lee said that in order to fully harness the potential of the region, all parties should strive for a region characterised by peace and stability, as well as growth and prosperity. 

On regional peace and stability, PM Lee said that specific issues in the region have to be managed, including tensions in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula, as well as the threat posed by the Islamic State.

“To address these issues, which are security issues, we have to work together. Whether it is sharing intelligence or taking actions to combat the spread of ideology to tackle terrorism, or adhering to international law and peacefully resolving disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, exercising self-restraint and refraining from the use or threat of force,” said the Prime Minister.

Mr Lee said that once the region can achieve peace and stability, “we have a chance to establish a region that is growing and prosperous.”

He noted that the region is now experiencing anaemic global economic growth, volatile market fluctuations and low commodity prices.

He said that economic cooperation with regional and international partners can be a win-win approach to promote greater prosperity.

“Within Asean, we have done this through the Asean Economic Community at the end of last year. Externally, ASEAN has negotiated FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) with many economic partners – China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

Mr Lee said that he is heartened by the interest from Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to deepen economic engagement with Asean.

“On Singapore’s part, we are exploring a EAEU-Singapore FTA, as a useful pathfinder towards an Asean-EAEU FTA. We support the proposal for our economic officials to explore a joint feasibility study on an Asean-EAEU FTA.” 

Later at a lunch hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Lee encouraged not only Russia but also other countries in Eurasia to explore more trade pacts with South-east Asia.

“Ideally we should pursue FTAs and liberalise trade multilaterally, in the WTO (World Trade Organization). Unfortunately, these global arrangements have not worked out,” he said.

“So the next best approach is to have overlapping plurilateral and bilateral trade agreements, as building blocks towards overall economic cooperation.”

The WTO agenda has been stalled for more than a decade, with thorny issues like agriculture tariffs and farming subsidies remaining unresolved.

Mr Lee noted that Asean member states are negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which involves all 10 countries and brings in China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. There is also the Trans-Pacific Partnership which includes several members of Asean. 

“It is a sensitive question to decide who’s in, who’s out and what’s the rationale. But if you take all the agreements together, the overall cumulative effect of the FTAs, it is clearly a plus,” he said.

“Even though it is untidy, the more overlapping agreements we have, the more integrated we can be,” he said. 

He also welcomed Mr Putin’s proposal for Asean, the EAEU and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to hold consultations to explore the possibility of a partnership. 

Mr Lee wrapped up his four-day visit to Russia on Friday.