By Massita Ahmad
SINGAPORE, Oct 27 -- Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested three areas to further strengthen the ASEAN-Australia partnership, with one of them “upholding ASEAN Centrality in the regional architecture.”
In his intervention for the First ASEAN-Australia Summit today, Lee said ASEAN and Australia shared similar strategic regional outlooks.
“Singapore welcomes new regional architecture formulations that support ASEAN Centrality, deepen economic integration, and promote a stable and secure Asia-Pacific region and a rules-based order, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“We welcome Australia’s assurance that its AUKUS partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom will be consistent with these criteria,” he said.
AUKUS is a trilateral security pact between the three countries, announced on Sept 15, 2021, for the Indo-Pacific region.
The other two areas suggested by the prime minister to further strengthen the partnership include post-pandemic recovery, and smart cities.
Lee is leading the Singapore delegation to the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits hosted by the current ASEAN chair Brunei from 26-28 Oct, which is held via videoconference.
-- BERNAMA
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