Singapore: The United States plays an “indispensable” role in Asia despite the rise of China and India and should be part of any new regional group, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

Lee, whose state is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, expressed hope that Washington would deepen engagement in the region despite worries over Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.

“We believe America plays an indispensable role in Asia in many fields - economic, political, strategic, security,” he told a news conference.

“We’ve been talking about a multipolar world, but de facto the US is the most powerful nation in the world and will be so for some time to come.”

US President Barack Obama, Lee and 19 other leaders including the presidents of China and Russia will gather in Singapore for the November 13-15 APEC summit. Lee’s comments came amid debate about the US role in various proposed free-trade zones and economic communities in the region.

At an Asian summit last month in Thailand, Japan spoke of its vision for an East Asian Community and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd outlined his idea for an Asia-Pacific Community.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was unclear on the extent of proposed US involvement but Rudd’s vision includes Washington.

Diplomats say that Beijing meanwhile favours a free-trade zone comprising the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea.

APEC itself has a long-term goal - a free-trade area extending from Chile to China.