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Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s speech at the maintenance committee debate on 27 February 2023 27 February 2023
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1. Mr. Chairman, 2022 was a very busy year; we handled almost 200 incoming and outgoing visits. We expect an even higher pace in the coming year, and especially as more countries open their borders. Demand for consular services is increasing as more Singaporeans travel abroad, and they sometimes run into difficulties. But more critically, the world has become much more complex, with a perfect storm of multiple interrelated crises in the military, security, economy, public health, climate, technology, and socio-politics. The global order that has served us so well for the past six decades is under serious strain.
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2. Henry Kwek asked how our foreign policy should adapt to these evolving trends. I want to emphasize four points. First, foreign policy starts at home. I believe that the leader of the opposition also agrees with this. If we are not united and successful as a thriving, vital city-state in the heart of Southeast Asia, we will quickly become irrelevant to the world. I am also glad that if you listen to all the speeches of the PAP MPs, the opposition and the candidates, and in fact if you all changed your speech, it would not be noticeable. This speaks well of Singapore’s foreign policy consensus. Second, our foreign policy must be based on a clear understanding of Singapore’s long-term national interests and our vulnerabilities in a volatile and dangerous world. We refuse to be a vassal state that can be bullied or bought. We will not be a representative or stalking horse of any great power. We follow principles, but we don’t pick sides. For example, our principled position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which in fact has just celebrated its first dark anniversary, illustrates this point. We defend the right of all nations, big or small, to have their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity fully respected. Third, we must continue to make common cause with as many countries as possible by building overlapping circles of friends. Sisi’s circle apparently consists of our immediate neighbors and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Fourth point, we must always abide by international law, rules-based multilateralism and avenues for peaceful dispute resolution – precisely because we are a small city-state.
3. I would now like to address the questions about US-China competition that I believe Mr. Vikram Nair, Mr. Tin Pei Ling, Mr. Janet Ang and the Leader of the Opposition have asked about the impact of the difficult and complex relationship between the United States and China in our region and in Singapore. This represents a fundamental lack of strategic trust based on incompatible worldviews and exacerbated by their internal political pressures. Both sides want to avoid conflict, but neither side can afford to be weak. The balloon incident reflected this dynamic. It raised suspicions and tensions on both sides amid strong domestic reactions. The incident was a setback for the interaction between the United States and China. But I am glad that Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and State Councilor Wang Yi met in Munich earlier this month. It shows that both sides recognize the need for dialogue and diplomacy, especially in these times.
4. Effective communication between the US and China is vital to managing the risks of global affairs. Both sides need to create guardrails as negative views against the other side become increasingly structural features of geopolitical discourse in both the US and China. In China, for example, there is a growing perception that the United States is a declining superpower, determined to curb China’s rise at all costs. In the United States, there has also been a profound change in attitudes towards China. The United States believes that China “is the only competitor that has both the intent to change the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that goal.” There is now a well-established bipartisan US view that China’s growing power is harmful to American interests and values.
5. Both sides are now locked in a fierce and intensifying strategic competition in several sectors. The United States has identified computing, biotechnology, and clean technology as a force multiplier across the technological ecosystem and has emphasized leadership in all of these arenas as a national security imperative. As a result, the United States has decided that it must maintain as much of an advantage over China as possible in these areas. To this end, the United States is implementing systematic measures, including export restrictions on advanced semiconductor technology. In fact, there are ongoing discussions on a screening mechanism for outbound investment. China, on the other hand, is determined to achieve greater self-sufficiency and prevent itself from being held to ransom. It has gradually moved parts of its supply chains into the technology sector. Together, these actions by both sides increase the risk of a major split in the technological and economic systems, deepening tensions and growing mutual suspicions – with profound consequences for the rest of the world.
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6. There is a real risk that US and Chinese efforts to reduce interdependence will have a negative impact on the global economy, and Singapore will not escape such spillovers. Our open economy is highly dependent on doing business with the rest of the world, and we have benefited greatly from being an important hub in globalized supply chains. The United States is Singapore’s largest foreign investor and our largest service trade partner. But we are also one of the biggest investors in China, which is our main trading partner. If the US and China get along, Singapore has an ideal chance to succeed. On the other hand, if things go wrong between them, these strengths could quickly become Singapore’s vulnerabilities.
7. The Taiwan Strait has become a more dangerous flashpoint. For China, Taiwan is part of China, and Taiwan’s independence is an absolute red line. However, for the United States and some other Western countries, Taiwan is a vibrant democracy that they must protect, just like Ukraine, which is actually different because Ukraine is an independent country and a member of the United Nations (UN). At the same time, more and more people in Taiwan identify themselves exclusively as Taiwanese. While neither the US nor China are seeking military conflict over Taiwan, the fact is that missteps or accidents could easily set off a chain of actions and reactions that spiral dangerously out of control. The conflict in Taiwan has global ramifications and a much more direct impact on Singapore than the ongoing war in Ukraine. Taiwan is not only geographically closer to us, but also our relations with the United States, China and Taiwan are much stronger and deeper than our relations with Russia and Ukraine.
8. We have repeatedly emphasized to both the United States and China that Singapore, and indeed countries in our region, want to maintain good relations with both countries. We don’t want to be forced to choose sides. We participate in several projects where the memberships overlap, but where both parties are not always present. Are you talking about the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or the Global Development Initiative, for example. We have always put Singapore’s national interests first and take principled positions impartially, even if it does not always please either major power. We need quiet confidence and national unity to do so consistently over the long term. Given the serious consequences for the world, we, like most countries, hope that the United States and China will agree on a modus vivendi. SMS Sim Ann will later tell about our cooperation with both the United States and China.
9. I now turn to our immediate neighbors: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. We continue to strengthen our relations with all three countries.
Speech By Minister For Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan At Mfa’s Committee Of Supply Debate, 27 February 2023
10. Vikram Nair asked about the significance of the extended framework agreements with Indonesia. It is noteworthy that Singapore and Indonesia recently completed our national legal processes for the formal ratification of these three Extended Framework Agreements, namely the Flight Information Area (FIR) Agreement, the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and the Extradition Treaty (ET). ). For the FIR, the next step is for Singapore and Indonesia to jointly seek approval from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and once the FIR is ready for implementation, both parties will arrange for all three agreements to enter into force simultaneously. on a mutually agreed upon date.
11. These three agreements bring tangible benefits to both our countries. Pursuant to the FIR Agreement, Indonesia delegates to Singapore the provision of air navigation services in those parts of the airspace located in the realigned Jakarta FIR that are closest to Singapore. This ensures that the current
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