Singapore Prime Minister: ASEAN should work together to address regional issues.

Against the backdrop of ASEAN moving towards integration and the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently gave an interview to Vietnam News and several other ASEAN newspapers about the issues facing member states of the bloc.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Photo: AFP/VNA).

Regarding the recent wave of refugees in the region and human trafficking, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated that countries in the region need to discuss ways to respond. First and foremost, this issue needs to be addressed in the countries of origin of refugees who may be forced to migrate due to extremely difficult living conditions, while also preventing human trafficking.

According to him, organized human trafficking groups make a lot of money from the flow of illegal migrants and will try to sustain this wave of refugees.

The Singapore Prime Minister emphasized that for important issues, ASEAN can coordinate, influence, and encourage each other to find solutions.

Regarding the South China Sea dispute, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong affirmed that "this issue directly affects four ASEAN member states, but also indirectly affects the entire ASEAN bloc, as it is a security issue at the heart of Southeast Asia."

He stated that ASEAN's common position is that a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) needs to be negotiated, and ASEAN and China are currently in the process of doing so.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed confidence that ASEAN is completely united on this aspect, and stated that if disputes are not resolved peacefully in accordance with international law or the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ASEAN, including Singapore, will certainly face many problems.

Regarding the regional situation after integration, specifically the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of this year, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong said this is a major step forward, but he emphasized that it is not the ultimate goal of cooperation within the bloc.

He stated that ASEAN still has many agendas to address, and completing the tasks set out on time would be a very important achievement. However, ASEAN needs to consider the next steps in the process of regional integration and cooperation.

(According to AFP/VNA/VN+)