Sharing his views on ASEAN-US ties on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Bali, he noted that this was the third year that ASEAN leaders are holding their summit with the President of the US.
Mr Lee said US security presence in the region has underpinned regional peace and security for the last 60 years while the US economy has been the key driver of the region's economic progress. He noted too that economic difficulties in the US have also affected ASEAN.
He also stressed it is important for the US to keep engaging the region, and countries must work together to maintain peace in a fast-changing environment. In this regard, ASEAN welcomed efforts to elevate the grouping's partnership to a strategic level. It will launch an ASEAN-US Eminent Persons group, to recommend concrete steps to boost ties.
On cooperation with ASEAN's Plus 3 partners - China, Japan and South Korea - he said there has been good progress across all sectors, especially in finance, food security and education.
ASEAN marks several milestones in 2012. It celebrates 15 years of partnership with Plus 3 partners, while its ties with the US reach 35 years.
For US President Barack Obama, the meeting allowed him to stress US views on Myanmar. Besides announcing that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would visit Myanmar, he said good US-Myanmar ties would depend on Myanmar taking more concrete action to reform its processes.
ASEAN's leaders also met with their dialogue partners from China, Japan and South Korea, first individually and then collectively as part of the ASEAN Plus 3 dialogue process. ASEAN urged them to play a bigger role in helping the group achieve its connectivity objective, by involving both the private and public sectors of their countries in major infrastructure projects.
Making his debut at the summit was Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who pledged humanitarian support for ASEAN members affected by natural disasters.
ASEAN also celebrated the 20th anniversary of ties with China by opening the ASEAN-China Centre in Beijing. It is a one-stop information and activities centre to spur trade and investment, since China is now ASEAN's largest trading partner.
-CNA/ac
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