Tokyo  - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed to take leadership in promoting further economic growth of Asia-Pacific region with the South-east Asian nations.

Fukuda on Thursday delivered a key foreign policy speech at a banquet in Tokyo held in association with an international conference, which was reminiscent of the 1977 address delivered in Manila by his father, the late Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda.

The prime minister proposed to boost economic cooperation with the nations in the region and take the initiative to build a support system to prepare and respond to disasters as well as pandemics such as bird flu.

Fukuda wanted to see the Asian region "form a network of countries" with the United States, Russia and India, and the Pacific Ocean an "island sea" in the next 30 years.

But "such a network will not simply evolve on its own," he said. "Asian countries should ... develop their capacity to participate in the creation of this network. In addition, we have to improve the necessary environment."

In achieving such a goal, the Japanese premier promised to support Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) to form a community by 2015, reinforce the Japan-US alliance to maintain the stability of Asia and the Pacific, make Japan a "peace fostering nation," step up human exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, and work to address climate change issues.

He also proposed to work together with ASEAN states to eliminate economic disparities in the Mekong region.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

While pledging to form a network for disaster management, Fukuda also stressed the need to continue the fight against terrorism, for instance, through Japan's refueling mission in support of US-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.

Fukuda said his father's speech called, "the Fukuda Doctrine," was "still alive.

He vowed Japan's commitment at "peace building," while pledging never to become a military power but gain mutual trust with Southeast Asian nations. (dpa)