China wants to play role in Malacca security

Reported here:

China has agreed to work closely with Singapore and the other regional countries to tackle the threat of terrorism and piracy in the Straits of Malacca.

The agreement was reached during a meeting of Chinese and Singapore delegates led by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Beijing on Tuesday...
...Mr Lee explored China's relations with the US and Japan.

China and the US, he said, would have to find ways to engage each other constructively to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.

As for China-Japan ties, the Singapore leader said both sides must move on and not be imprisoned by their history.

Asean countries, Mr Lee said, welcome closer ties with China but do not want to be exclusively dependent on China.

They do not want to be forced to choose between China and the US, or China and Japan.

Rather, Asean favours an open and inclusive approach which gives all the major powers a stake in Asia's regional architecture.

Prime Minister Lee said Singapore has benefited from a stable regional order and the best way to enhance this favourable environment is to have a successful China take an active interest in the region, alongside India, Japan and US which continue to play significant roles.

Singapore, he said, wants China to succeed and will participate in its transformation in whatever small way it can.

The Singapore leader also noted that as China becomes more interlinked with the rest of the world, it will have to adopt international norms, help tackle global problems like avian flu, and play an active role in global bodies.