'There has been, for years, strong bipartisan support for intensive US engagement in South-east Asia and with Asean. I don't see any signs that that would change,' Mr Scot Marciel told The Straits Times in an interview yesterday.

Mr Marciel, who is also Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South-east Asia since June last year, pointed out that the US-Asean relationship has made significant strides in the past eight years under President George W. Bush.

'Business investment, trade, education cooperation, cooperation on the environment, health care - it's expanding in all those areas,' he said.

For example, two-way trade rose to US$172 billion (S$263.8 billion) last year from US$120 billion in 1997. Asean has become the US' fourth-largest export market.

In non-economic spheres, the US helps Asean in areas from wildlife conservation to fighting terrorism by providing training and funding.

After Myanmar was devastated by Cyclone Nargis earlier this year, the US also worked very closely with Asean to help the impoverished country, providing more than US$50 million in aid so far, Mr Marciel noted.

Indeed, his own appointment in April as the first US Ambassador to Asean attests to the close partnership. The US is the first country among Asean's 10 dialogue partners to assign a permanent representative to the bloc.

Since taking on the job, Mr Marciel, a 49-year-old career diplomat, said he has visited the region once every six weeks on average. In September alone, he was in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

He is in Singapore this week to meet his Asean counterparts at twice-yearly discussions on areas of cooperation, called the Informal Coordinating Mechanism.

Despite such firm bonds, one issue continues to be a sticking point in Asean-US relations: Myanmar.

Mr Marciel yesterday said the junta's recent arrest of more than 100 of its critics, and the long jail terms meted out to some of them, were a 'very negative' development. He urged Asean to take action under the new Asean Charter.

The charter, which has been ratified by all 10 Asean member nations, commits the countries to uphold democracy and human rights.

But the US envoy said the group has so far done nothing about the latest political suppression in Myanmar.

'You set out these ambitious goals, you created these standards in the charter but...I think it's a major issue for Asean that one of its members is blatantly violating the fundamental rules of the charter, and so far Asean has been quiet about it,' Mr Marciel said, adding that he would raise the subject with his Asean colleagues.

Thailand's political upheaval and the simmering border spat between Thailand and Cambodia, although described by Mr Marciel as internal disputes, add to the challenges facing the region.

Asean needs to find a way to deal with them or risk losing its relevance, said the American envoy, especially when compared to other existing or proposed regional architecture, such as an Asia-Pacific Community mooted by Australian leader Kevin Rudd.

'Its going to take tremendous political will to move ahead,' Mr Marciel said.

'My role is to remind Asean of the goals that it set for itself and to see if we can find ways to encourage the progress.'