There is certainly an element of rivalry between China and India but India is not going to allow itself to be used to check and contain China. Both Chinese and Indian leaders want their two countries to have good relations. They believe that the world is large enough to accommodate the aspirations of both, plus of course, the US, Europe, ASEAN and other countries. ASEAN with more than 500 million people is large but it is not a country. It is an organisation of 10 countries. It does not threaten the interests of the major powers. That is why ASEAN has been able to provide a neutral venue to bring larger powers together. Placing ASEAN at the centre of the Asian construct helps to reconcile and assuage the tensions between major players and their competing interests. It is also the reason why ASEAN must remain in the driver's seat and the political underpinning for the multitude of dialogues and fora that ASEAN has spawned such as the ASEAN +3, ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit (EAS). The inaugural 16-member EAS was held last December. Major powers outside the grouping need not be worried that the EAS would work against their interests. It is in ASEAN's interest that the EAS remains open and inclusive. Conclusion Let me conclude. A rising new Asia will usher in a new era of opportunities for the world. It is therefore appropriate for the Institute of International Finance (IIF) to hold this meeting in Singapore, a gateway to access Asia.
The original target date of 2020 was advanced to 2015 this year. Obviously, there are practical difficulties of integration given the diversity in the region and the different levels of development. ASEAN leaders have tasked an Eminent Persons Group to come up with an ASEAN Charter to guide ASEAN's future development. This will mark a new phase of deeper ASEAN integration. Geo-strategic shifts The re-emergence of India and China, and the revitalisation of ASEAN are taking place within a broader geo-strategic context. Let me now examine some of the larger trends. At one level, Asia is slowly but surely coalescing. The entire region is being sewn together by changing patterns of trade, investment and production chains. Increasing economic integration is reflected by the rapid expansion of intra-Asia trade. From 34% in 1980, intra-Asian trade as a share of the region's total trade has grown to more than 50% in 2005. The transformations taking place in Asia are of a depth and scope historically unprecedented. The combined population of Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and India is well over 3 billion, about half the world's population. Changes of the scale that are currently underway could be profoundly unsettling to international order. Strong growth will give Beijing and New Delhi the resources to pursue wider strategic interests across Asia and beyond. Strategic stability is not to be taken for granted, particularly in Asia where there are many territorial and other unresolved issues left over from historically complicated relationships. Great power competition and rivalry are facts of life.