SINGAPORE: Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said much work needs to be done for the ASEAN Economic Community 2015.
Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking at the ASEAN Day reception on Thursday evening, also said the Masterplan on ASEAN connectivity needs a lot of attention.
He added that even as political-security and economic community blueprints are being rolled out, there is a need to build a stronger sense of common identity among the people of ASEAN.
He said ASEAN will continue to be a player in the region's geopolitical future as long as it stays relevant.
This, he said, will depend on the ability to stay united and focussed on commonalities.
Mr Shanmugam said: "ASEAN is fated always to have challenges. The major powers are increasingly competing for influence here and they are interested precisely because ASEAN is successful. We will need to steer through this complex geopolitical situation.
"While it's difficult to predict the future, we can constantly review the processes and initiatives within ASEAN to make ourselves more efficient, substantive and impactful."
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