LEE WANTS US ROLE IN REGION

       Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has signalled a regional groping proposed by Japan's new premier should involve the United States, news reports said yesterday.
       Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last month, has outlined his long-term vision for a European Union-style economic and political alliance of Asian nations under a single regional currency.
       Lee, who will begin his four-day visit to Japan today, told Japanese media in Singapore that the proposed regional community should not be a closed group.
       "It is in Japan's and the region's interest to keep the regional architecture open and inclusive," Lee said in his written response to the media.
       "We must also maintain the strong economic and security ties between Asia and the US across the Pacific," the Singapore premier said.
       "[But as] there have so far been faw details about the East Asia Community proposal, I look forward to understanding better from Prime Minister Hatoyama what he has in mind," he added.
       Hatoyama unveiled the proposal in an article ahead of his party's landslide win in the August 30 general elections tha ended more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.
       Lee, who will be the first head of government to visit Japan since hatoyama's inauguration on September 16, said he wants to maintain close ties with the Hatoyama administration.
       "Japan is a very important regional and international player [and] much has changed since my last visit in March 2007," Lee said.
       "I look forward to fruitful and substantive discussions with Prime Minister Hatoyama and his colleagues," he added.