China Global Times, a English-language Chinese newspaper under the purview of People’s Daily, published an opinion piece yesterday (23 Aug) in response to what Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a news interview during the visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris to Singapore.
The People’s Daily is the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China and its publications typically reflect the political stand of the Chinese government.
“As a quasi-ally of the US, Singapore’s stance toward the US and China is telling,” Global Times wrote.
Commenting on the interview given by Balakrishnan to Channel News Asia on Sunday (22 Aug), Global Times noted what Balakrishnan said about Singapore will “be useful but we will not be made use of” in its relations with both China and the US.
Balakrishnan also said that Singapore will not become “one or the other’s stalking horse to advance negative agendas.”
Global Times further noted that during Obama’s time in 2016, Singapore played “quite an active role” in coordinating the US’ South China Sea agenda against China’s interests by endorsing the South China Sea arbitration being pushed forward by then Philippine president Benigno Aquino.
“But in recent years, Singapore has tried hard to maintain a delicate balance between China and the US,” Global Times observed.
“Small countries like Singapore have their own role in the region and on the world stage. They don’t want to be used as a ‘stalking horse’ by certain powers but they want to be useful in regional and international affairs. China has attached great importance to ASEAN’s role in boosting regional integration, and that’s where Singapore can find itself ‘useful’.”
Global Times also quoted Ge Hongliang, vice dean of the College of ASEAN Studies at Guangxi University for Nationalities in its article.
Ge commented, “Singapore is clear that the US hopes Southeast Asian countries could be confined by the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy whose ultimate aim is to contain China’s rise. This is what Balakrishnan’s ‘be made use of’ meant. So he said Singapore will draw a line between ‘being useful’ and ‘being made use of.’ Even when a senior US official comes, Singapore will not change its stance.”
“With the US’ sincerity toward Southeast Asia being called into question and regional countries pursuing an independent and balanced course, they will not become the ‘stalking horse’ as the US has expected, but will carefully calibrate their interests to avoid falling into the US geopolitical trap,” Global Times added.
Terrex incident
Five years ago on 23 Nov 2016, the relationship between Singapore and China hit a low point when 9 Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) en route to Singapore from Taiwan, were detained by the authorities at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung Container Terminal.
The Terrex vehicles were being shipped from Taiwan back to Singapore, having taken part in routine training exercises that the SAF regularly conducts in Taiwan.
The incident came about in the midst of a dip in China-Singapore relations, which started after the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea on 12 Jul 2016 and Singapore’s subsequent response — which the Chinese interpreted as an anti-China stance. When the Terrex vehicles were impounded at Hong Kong, Singapore’s officials were shocked.
The relationship further deteriorated after Singapore’s Ambassador to Beijing, Stanley Loh, issued an open letter to the editors of China’s Global Times newspaper in Sep 2016, rebutting its report of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit earlier that month, which alleged that the Singapore delegation raised the issues of the South China Sea and the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling. Since then, a series of angry exchanges between the two countries, involving both public officials and private netizens, followed.
Singapore was then not invited by China to its One Belt, One Road conference in May 2017, despite Singapore’s strong support for Beijing’s sprawling economic and trade initiative.
Relations only started to thaw between Beijing and Singapore after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Jul 2017. It’s not known what PM Lee said to President Xi privately.
Then in his visit to China two months later in Sep 2017, PM Lee was effusive in his praise for China’s role in wider Asia during his interview with the Chinese media. He praised China’s development and called for strong ties between Beijing and the rest of Asia.
“A successful China, a prosperous and confident China, a China that coexists peacefully and benefits mutually with neighboring countries is not only good for the well-being of China, but also the world at large,” he told the Chinese media.
Since then, Singapore’s officials have been careful with their words, as evidenced by the recent comments of Balakrishnan during his media interview.
