Singapore Urges US and China to Stabilize Ties Amid Tensions

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged the US and China to stabilize ties between one another and warned that any clash between the super powers would have “grievous consequences for themselves and the world.”

(Bloomberg) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged the US and China to stabilize ties between one another and warned that any clash between the super powers would have “grievous consequences for themselves and the world.”

“We hope that China and the United States will succeed in stabilizing their relationship and establishing mutual trust and respect to cooperate in areas where their interests are aligned,” he said during the Boao forum in Hainan on Thursday. “The world feels the impact of these tensions keenly.”

Like most Southeast Asian nations, Singapore has tried to navigate the middle path between the US and China; a role that has become increasingly difficult as the two powers tussle on everything from semiconductors to Taiwan. While those countries rely on Beijing as a major economic partner, they also depend on the US as a security partner at a time China continued to grow its military prowess.

“Economic imperatives are being overshadowed by national security concerns,” Lee said. “Countries are pursuing self reliance and resilience by onshoring, or friend-shoring, their supply chains. The bifurcation in technological and economic systems is deepening and this will impose a huge economic cost on countries as well as further exacerbate rivalries.”

The speech comes during Lee’s first trip to China since the pandemic with the scheduled itinerary including a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, while he’s also scheduled to meet other high-profile figures of Communist Party. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also spoke at the forum.

The city-state has become increasingly vocal over the rising tensions with its foreign minister previously saying the relationship between the two global powers has gotten so bad the stage is “almost pre-set” for an accident akin to the events precipitating World War I. Lee recently sounded the alarm during an interview with Chinese broadcaster CCTV saying “the world cannot afford a conflict between China and the rest of the world, and in particular between China and the US.”

A string of crises in recent months has given rise to increasingly aggressive rhetoric on both sides, while the bilateral relationship hit another low point this year after the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon and after officials said Beijing was considering providing lethal aid to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. China meanwhile warned ahead of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the US this week that any meeting between her and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would be a serious provocation. 

“Big powers have a heavy responsibility to maintain stable and workable relations with one another,” Lee said Thursday.

–With assistance from Charlie Zhu and Dan Murtaugh.

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