Singapore PM lauds US’s “return to Asia” policy

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has hailed the US’s “return to Asia” policy and President Obama’s strong commitment to Asia rebalance during his meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden in Washington DC on June 25.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has hailed the US’s “returnto Asia” policy and President Obama’s strong commitment to Asiarebalance during his meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden inWashington DC on June 25.

PM Lee reaffirmed thesteady bilateral ties between Singapore and the US and shared hisopinions on measures to further boost the relations.

The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen the US relations inthe region, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement,especially in the context that Asia plays an increasingly important rolein the US ’s economic development strategy.

BothBiden and Lee held that together with the US-Singapore free trade deal,the conclusion of the TPP is significant in the US ’s relations withAsia .

They also acknowledged progress in bilateralcooperation in security and law enforcement, while affirming that theirplan of training personnel for a third country has benefited USengagement efforts in Asia .

During his stay inWashington , PM Lee also had meetings with some officials of the USSenate Committee on Military Affairs and Foreign Affairs.

Earlier, PM Lee also emphasised the importance of international law indealing with disputes, including those on the East Sea .

Speaking at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations on June24, PM Lee said from the point of view of a country which must survivein an international system where there are big countries and small,outcomes cannot be determined just by might is right. International lawmust have a big weight in how disputes are resolved./.

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