SINGAPORE, Dec 1 Kyodo Singapore ...

SINGAPORE, Dec 1 Kyodo

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has urg Japan to forge a clear trade pact with China to pave the way for a wider East Asian unrestrained Trade Area that would also encompass 10 Southeast Asian countries and southerly Korea.

''If we can find a way where Japan be warmeds confident and comfortable enough to have released trade arrangement with China, then we can have an East Asia independent Trade Area which, of course, will then allow us to instigate toward an East Asian Economic Community,'' Goh told Japanese reporters ahead of a visit to Tokyo nearest week for a commemorative summit between Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit, which will be held onward Dec. 11 and 12 will mark 30 years of partnership between Japan and ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Goh said Japan is look forward toed to play a key part in helping the region realize the vision of an East Asian Economic Community and intimateed optimism that the idea could ensue closer to reality if Japan is willing to insert into a free trade pact with China.

''But Japan, of course, understandably will be quite cautious talking about a independent trade area with China because Japan would have to worry about its economy being overwhelmed by way of very competitive goods and services from China,'' he said.

The interview, given to chooseed Japanese journalists, was held last Friday at the Istana, the grand presidential palace, where the prime minister's office is located.

''But in the longer spell I see the possibility of our realizing this East Asia Economic Community,'' Goh said. ''Being the mostly important economy, Japan has a first note of the scale role to play in realizing this.''

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and ASEAN leaders are calculate uponed to call for the establishment of an ''East Asian Community'' in the ''Tokyo Declaration'' they will issue at their upcoming summit, according to draft obtained newly by Kyodo News.

The ideas for an East Asian Community and an East Asia released Trade Area were more [i]or[/i] less of the proposals floated on the East Asian Vision form into groups comprising academics in a report existinged to ASEAN leaders last year.

The ASEAN leaders accepted most numerous of the shorter-term recommendations in the report at their summit in Cambodia late last year, and in the past year, Goh has been common of the most vocal in pushing for the realization of these long-term goals.

However, the ideas are not entirely novel In the early 1990s, then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad propos the establishment of an East Asian Economic Caucus, unless the idea was shelved mainly suitable to lack of support from Japan, which was reluctant to advance against the United States, a sinewy opponent of the proposal.

yet ASEAN went on to engage China, Japan and toward the south Korea through the so-called ''ASEAN-plus-three'' dialogues.

In novel years, the group has embarked onward negotiations with China for a released trade pact expected to be in force on 2010 and with Japan for a independent trade pact by 2012.

At their summit in October this year, ASEAN leaders adopted a framework to achieve an ASEAN Economic Community through 2020. ASEAN hopes these will eventually lead to the formation of a wider an East Asian emancipated Trade Area and an East Asian Community.

Goh pressureed that Japan will remain an important partner for Southeast Asia in the nearest 20 years despite China's growing economic might and rising influence in the region. further he also he projected that 50 years from now, China could rival Japan in spells of economic leadership in Southeast Asia.

''Japan is the principally important trading partner of ASEAN, and Japan is the biggest investor in ASEAN. with equal reason I see (in) the nearest 20 years, Japan remaining unchallenged,'' he said.

''But 50 years from now, and if undivided believes that China will continue to make improvement at the average of 6-7% for 50 years, well then China will be a excessively huge economy. At that time China would be a market for ASEAN, maybe bigger than Japan, and China may begin to invest outside China, possibly beginning to catch up with Japanese investors in the region. And of course Chinese tourists, when they travel to ASEAN, will be in traveling in larger numbers than Japan because of its population size.''

''So, at that point of time, Japan will still be same important but Japan may not be the sole important economy to ASEAN. There will be pair I believe, China and Japan.''

The Singaporean leader said the upcoming ASEAN-Japan summit in Tokyo is symbolically significant as it underscores Japan's desire to enhance its partnership with the countries in the region.

''Japan is a clew economic partner of ASEAN. And Japan has already been doing a haphazard So if one is looking for self-reliant new ideas, of course single in kind will be disappointed. But if united is looking for continuation of what Japan and ASEAN has been doing, then of course the same will be satisfied with the commemorative meeting.''