The Hindu : Front Page : India has legitimate interests in South East Asia: George Yeo

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007
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India has legitimate interests in South East Asia: George Yeo

Amit Baruah

Says Singapore Foreign Minister

George Yeo

NEW DELHI: India has very legitimate interests in South East Asia such as the protection of air and sealanes, Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo told The Hindu in an exclusive interview here on Monday.

"We see India's presence as being a beneficial and beneficent one to all of us in South-east Asia," Mr. Yeo stressed, maintaining that India's engagement with South-east Asia was growing from strength to strength.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) looked at the peaceful rise of India and China with a mixture of opportunity and concern. Pointing out that both countries were low-cost producers in different ways, Mr. Yeo was candid about the challenges that ASEAN faced.

"And, if we do not find niches for ourselves, then we may be dealt out by Chinese manufacturing and Indian services. So, we've got to think through how to move forward, working complementarily with India and China," Mr. Yeo, who called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of senior Ministers here on Monday, said.

On Myanmar, he revealed that ASEAN had decided last year to stop "badgering" the military junta after the differential treatment meted out to U.N. High Representative Ibrahim Gambari and ASEAN High Representative Syed Hamid Albar.

"So, we decided to give them more space, but it also means that we cannot be defending them [the junta] internationally. ... They [Myanmar] are still within the family; we give them more space, but we cannot be answering for all the strange things going on in that country," he added.

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