PM Lee says Asian countries should avoid forming Nato equivalent

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said it is in Asia's interest to avoid forming a security bloc like Europe's Nato, noting the region's history and circumstances make such a military alliance unnecessary.

Biden, currently on his maiden Asia tour as US president, said on Saturday that stronger ties among like-minded nations were necessary amid an inevitable "competition between democracies and autocracies". "In Asia, the history is different. There was never a grouping in Asia which was the equivalent of Nato," Lee said. "And countries in Asia, many of them enjoy good ties with China, as well as with the US and the US' treaty allies," he said, naming US treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Australia.

In the interview, Iguchi said "many countries rely too much on trade with China" and that "if China stops importing from Asian countries, the effect would be devastating"."The opportunities are there, the markets are there, and you want to trade with them, and soon, many countries will be welcoming their investments as well," he said.

In the wide-ranging interview, Lee also touched on the question of China and self-ruled Taiwan's recent application to join the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.Singapore is this year's chair of the group's decision-making body. In September, Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province, applied to join the CPTPP a week after Beijing did so.

Lee said Singapore, for its part, would welcome China to the CPTPP. He said the world's second-largest economy would need to meet the standards of the pact. "But in the end, the decision is made by the consensus of the members so the other members may well have different views," he said.

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