India grows internationally, says Singapore PM

Singapore, Jun 1 (UNI) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today said India's weight in regional and international affairs is growing.

''As its vibrant economy progressively opens up, its security outlook is becoming more outward oriented,'' Mr Loong said in a welcome address of the sixth International Institute of Strategic Studies' Asia Security Conference and Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue involving Asian defence sectors.

From a traditional focus on its northern land borders, India is now more engaged in maritime security, extending beyond the Indian Ocean to the Straits of Malacca through which more than half of its maritime trade passes and beyond, Mr Lee noted.

Recently, the Indian Navy concluded an unprecedented string of bilateral and multilateral exercises in the South China Sea, Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan and off the western coast of Japan with several navies from the Asia Pacific region.

''India is also stepping up its economic engagements with East and Southeast Asia,'' Mr Lee said adding that trade between India and the ASEAN region has increased five-fold in the last decade, though formal cooperation between India and ASEAN is not progressing as fast as we would like.

India continues to engage in the East Asia Summit and plans to revive the ancient Nalanda University as a centre for learning and inter-faith dialogue for scholars from all over Asia, and to promote other areas of cooperation, including in science and technology, and arts and culture.

''Beyond the region, India's partnership with the US has created a new dynamic,'' he said.

The US Administration views India as a country ''poised to shoulder global obligations in cooperation with it, in a way befitting the major power,'' said Mr Lee. ''Last year, both sides agreed to cooperate on civilian nuclear energy, a de facto recognition by the US that India is a nuclear power.'' ''However, it is clear from the debate in India on this issue that it will not be a deputy sheriff to the United States, but fully intends to maintain its own strategic priorities,'' the Singapore Premier said in his comments on Asian defense sectors.

''Indeed, India does not see its partnership with the US as a means to counter-balance China. Instead, India and China are growing their economic links, and holding joint military exercises,'' he pointed out.

The re-opening of the Nathula Pass, once part of the Silk Road linking the two ancient civilizations, is another sign of its warming relations, he added.

''Some problems remain, such as the old border dispute, but these are being managed and are unlikely to affect the broader relationship,'' he said.

All countries in Asia are relieved, as none wants to see two nuclear powers and the two most populous countries in the world at odds with each other, he said.

The conference and dialogue is attended by Ministers and Armed Forces chiefs from the region, including the Indian Defence Minster A K Antony.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan, General Elsan Ul Haq is also at the conference and dialogue. Today, he called on Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo and exchange views on strengthening diplomatic and economic trade relations between the two countries.

UNI