The fifth Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-la Dialogue, organized by the London- based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) opened in Singapore Friday night.

Some 250 delegates from more than 20 countries and regions in Asia Pacific, North America and Europe including China, India, the United States, Britain, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Australia are participating in the three-day event.

They are expected to exchange views on issues such as the U.S. and Asia's emerging security architecture, deploying forces for international security, constructing a regional security community, as well as maritime security cooperation and challenges of force modernization.

Eminent participants include U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Australian Minister for Defense Brendan Nelson, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib Razak, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang Ung and Singapore's Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Delivering a keynote address at the opening reception, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the trend within Asia is towards greater economic cooperation, and hence a stable, more secure regional order.

"The trans-Pacific link continues to be of vital importance today, but a new framework of regional cooperation that reflects the growing intra-regional trade, investment and people linkages is emerging," Lee noted, adding that the changes will have strategic and security implications for regional countries.

Taking China as an example, Lee said that China has been participating in regional fora actively and has become the largest trading partner of many Asian countries including Japan and South Korea, and the second largest trading partner of India.

In his speech, Lee also warned that while strengthening intra- regional cooperation, Asia should always be part of the global economy instead of a closed trading bloc.

On Friday, the IISS also launched a book entitled The Military Balance 2006, an annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 169 countries with "region-by-region analysis of the major military and economic trends and developments affecting defense and security policies and the trade in weapons and other military equipment."

The annual summit meeting has been held at Singapore's Shangri- la hotel since its inauguration in 2002.

Source: Xinhua