The US must overcome the distrust of the vast numbers of mainstream Muslims who are indispensable to ending terrorism, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (
"Unfortunately, worldwide, right now many moderate Muslims are reluctant to condemn and disown the extremists, lest they be regarded as supporting the enemy," Lee said on Tuesday.
"The sources of Muslim anger and distrust of the US are historical and complex, but they have been accentuated in recent years by Muslim perceptions of American unilateralism and the feeling that the American policies in the Middle East are one-sided," Lee said. "It may or may not be so, but the perception is there."
Lee made his remarks to the US-ASEAN Business Council, a private trade group dedicated to building relations with the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Lee spoke hours after signing a strategic agreement specifying closer cooperation in defense and security with the US. US President George W. Bush said the pact "will have long-term consequences for peace in the region."
The US and Singapore have had a free-trade agreement in effect since Jan. 1 last year.
In his speech, Lee said the fast, efficient US response to Indonesia's tsunami disaster in December "made a difference in attitudes, particularly ... in the world's largest Islamic country."
But, he said, "this has to be sustained over time in order gradually to win over a group which should be an important ally."
Lee, who holds a master's degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, said the emergence of India and China as major powers makes a continued economic, strategic and political US presence even more vital in Asia, which "you defended ... not only with words but with action and blood."
"The US is not only a major economic player of Asia but also is a vital partner in Asia's overall security environment," Lee said. "In the new strategic landscape, the US remains the dominant military power, still exercising a decisive and benign influence in the region."
Still, Lee said, the terror threat remains not only on land but at sea, where every year 50,000 ships transit the Malacca Straits off Singapore carrying 30 percent of the world's trade and 50 percent of its oil. Immediate, far-reaching economic and strategic repercussions would follow any disruption, Lee said.
To avert such threats, "On land or at sea, our collective response to the terrorists must be resolute and implacable," he said. "But we can't defeat terrorism through military operations alone."
He said "this will be a test not of America's military hardware and equipment but of your other great strengths: openness, generosity and compassion, characteristics which have earned America admiration and respect all over the world.
"You must draw on them now to win over public opinion, correct misperceptions and build trust and credibility in the Muslim world."
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