LONDON: The rise of Asian powers requires the West to involve them in the global response to new security threats ranging from climate change to terrorism, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Their ascent as global players also compels a 'rebalancing' of relations between the West and Asia.

Pointing to Asia's two giants, Mr Lee gave ideas on how the West can integrate China especially, plus India, as active stakeholders in the fight against the new threats.

One way is for US and Europe to 'resist protectionist sentiments' and keep markets open to Asia.

He presented his views on Asia's role in global security, in remarks prepared for delivery early this morning, Singapore time, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Before his address, the Minister Mentor inaugurated the Lee Kuan Yew Conference Room at the institute, a leading authority on political-military conflict. It organises the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, an international security conference attended largely by defence ministers and military chiefs and experts.

This morning, his audience of almost 200 IISS members were mainly academics, former diplomats and military officers, corporate leaders and journalists.

In his address, the Minister Mentor set the scene for the new world order by showing how China and India are reshaping the planet's political and economic landscape.

This is evident in trade, energy use, labour flows and tourism, for instance.

But China's rise need not be seen as the decline of the West 'or a zero-sum game', he said.

For one thing, 'its growing dependency on international trade and resources means it would have a larger stake in maintaining security in the region and beyond'. It also understands 'it is only by plugging into the global network' that it developed so rapidly and transformed.

'China therefore has a strong stake in maintaining the stability of the international system and staying integrated.'

If engaged, Mr Lee believes Asian powers can be relied on to combat the new threats faced by all: pandemics, climate change, scarcity of energy, food and water, nuclear proliferation and terrorism.

But giving the emerging Asian powers a stake is not without its problems.

He identified two main challenges.

One, the need to accommodate the interests of the diverse group of countries, each of which may view the threats differently. Two, there is no tradition of China and the United States or even India and the US working together.

At the same time, he noted, the US wants to preserve the status quo of the global order. But the world cannot expect China and India to preserve this status quo 'without having a say in making refinements and changes'.

How then can the West accommodate Asia's interests and concerns?

Adjust the present world order, in which political norms, practices and institutions are driven by the West, said Mr Lee. Institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and World Bank no longer accurately reflect the real power distribution in the world.

For instance, China's booming economy drives energy demand, yet it is not an International Energy Agency member.

Instead of adopting a defensive or critical stance against China, Mr Lee said it should be seen 'as part of the solution and not part of the problem'.

In this light, the US and Europe can, first, eschew protectionist moves.

Second, adjust the 'values-based' approach to foreign relations.

'The pursuit of ostensibly 'moral' policies towards certain countries in Asia... has become an impediment to substantive engagement,' he said.

Third, entrench Asian interests in the global system. Then they will be stakeholders who bear 'their fair share of international responsibility' to deal with multi-dimensional challenges of these times.

Mr Lee ends his three-day visit to Britain today and leaves for an official visit to Paris.

siewhua@sph.com.sg

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