Opinion | Singapore's Prime Minister cautions US over its China stance
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
Joe Biden's Beijing approach is "everyone but China" as it works to deepen economic ties in the Asia-Pacific region, which in the opinion of Lee Hsien Loong is not just "unrealistic", but" wrong".
Lee does not even think it is realistic for Singapore to capitalize on Hong Kong's loss as its expats leave the city for reasons that relate to the pandemic and the restrictions. He thinks that this exodus of foreigners from Hong Kong is only temporary.
The right thing to hope for is not for Singapore to benefit at the expense of Hong Kong, but for a prosperous region; Singapore expects to benefit from a "vibrant, dynamic region" of which the city state is an integral part.
Lee Openly Called for Washington to Work with Beijing…
"The United States needs to include Beijing as it works to deepen its economic ties with Asia and not take an "everyone but China" approach to the Asia-Pacific region. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
Asking Asian nations to reject China's overtures of cooperation "is not just unrealistic, it is wrong", Lee said, as he called for Washington to work with Beijing and maintain "an overlapping and constructive engagement in the region".
Lee made the comments during a wide-ranging talk with The Wall Street Journal's editorial board on April 1, which covered, among other topics, Hong Kong and the war in Ukraine's implications for Asia.
Asked about how the "changing climate" in Hong Kong would affect Singapore, Lee said that the departure of expats "tired of the Covid-19 restrictions" was only short term.
"Some of them may want to come to Singapore. We are happy to welcome them, but actually we would be more pleased if they were happy to remain in Hong Kong…It is competition for Singapore, but it will make for a vibrant, dynamic region and Singapore belonging to the region will benefit from that."
The longer-term issue for Hong Kong, Lee said, was new laws that have been put in place after widespread protests in 2019, especially the national security law which proscribes acts such as secession, sabotage, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.
This had caused some firms to question their continued presence in the city and whether it would be better to relocate, he said.
"I believe Hong Kong can still make a living, and more than make a living, even as the environment gradually changes," Lee said.
Lee Said: The Security Architecture that Singapore Wanted for the Region…
Lee was also asked about how the security calculations of Asian countries had changed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and if he thought the conflict had made an impact on Beijing's thinking in respect to the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
He said his view was that war in Ukraine did not influence Taiwan's prospects greatly one way or the other. But the conflict had caused all governments to review their defense, he said, noting that Japan and South Korea had begun talking about nuclear weapons.
Asked by the moderator to elaborate on this point, given that some countries may argue they needed an "increased deterrent", Lee said one question to ask was whether all nuclear-weapons armed players understood "the nuances of mutual assured destruction".
Commenting on cooperation between the US and Singapore, Lee said that while the city state supported Washington's participation in the region "that does not mean we fight your wars or that we are expecting you to ride to our rescue should something happen to us".
"There is a certain flexibility to it, I think it is best to keep it like that, because the countries in the region, we are not lined up eyeball to eyeball. I have my friends, your have your friends, and we both have some friends in common, and we both do business with one another," he said.
The security architecture that Singapore wanted for the region, he said included "structures which will bring the region together and make you pause a little bit longer before deciding to go for an extreme solution".
Lee cautioned against the US defining the conflict in Ukraine as a battle of democracies against autocracies, as this would place China "one the wrong side" which would strain ties even more.
"We all have a problem in Ukraine," he said. "I think if we talk about sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, a lot of countries can come along. Even China would not object…and would actually privately strongly support that." (Source: SCMP)
CONCLUSION
Geopolitics in the Asian-Pacific region is complicated by the Joe Biden's administration whose summit meeting with the ASEAN states came with a political emphasis rather than trade, which is what these countries have in mind.
Sitting side by side with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at the US-ASEAN summit, Biden said that US relations with ASEAN were entering a "new era", and cooperation would be expanded on a range of fronts, from the digital economy to security.
However, Washington's renewed interest in Southeast Asian comes after years of engagement by Beijing via trade, infrastructure projects and pandemic control measures.
China is skeptical of US involvement, fearing the emergence of a Washington-led NATO style in Asia. It has called on Asian countries to be cautious and resist any attempts to provoke confrontation in the region.
Which of the two superpowers would the ASEAN countries choose? Countries that have territorial disputes with China would prefer to see a strong US presence; however, most of the others prefer to be dealing with China as it is trade-oriented and has the region's stability in mind.
China has expressed its concern recently to some ASEAN countries such as Singapore and Laos that tend to be more consistent in their ties with China.
Singapore is a country that Beijing can trust as it has made it clear to Washington that ASEAN prefers political stability and economic prosperity.
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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