Before attending the Xiangshan Forum held in Beijing, Singapore has made its position clear! The Minister of Defence of Singapore stated that Singapore can never take sides. On September 15, according to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore announced that Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen will visit China from September 15 to 17 to attend the 13th Xiangshan Forum, deliver a speech at the forum, and hold bilateral meetings with senior military officials including China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun. This marks the second consecutive year that the defence minister personally attends the forum.
Before attending the forum, Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen explicitly stated that pressure to choose sides has always existed for Singapore, but it can never take sides; if a choice must be made, it can only choose Singapore itself—always starting from the country’s own position and national interests. He emphasized that Singapore is neither pro-American nor anti-American; neither pro-China nor anti-China—it consistently stands on principle. The competitive dynamics between the United States and China need to be managed, which would send positive and constructive signals not only to Singapore and the region, but also globally.
Evidently, on one hand, Singapore is attending the Xiangshan Forum at a high level; on the other hand, its Defence Minister openly declared that Singapore will not take sides, and hopes to see the US and China manage their competition. This arrangement by Singapore is clearly no coincidence. What does this indicate? It indicates that Singapore understands the importance of building and deepening relations with China—but simultaneously, it does not want to be perceived by the United States as having already taken sides with China. Therefore, the Defence Minister himself stepped forward to clarify the stance.
Naturally, from our perspective, we have not demanded that Singapore take sides. As for who is pressuring Singapore to take sides, that country is undoubtedly the United States. Caught in the middle of the US-China strategic rivalry, Singapore is clearly striving to maintain a balanced relationship in order to place itself in a relatively advantageous position. From Singapore’s standpoint, this approach is entirely reasonable. Singapore hopes to see a de-escalation in Sino-US relations, a sentiment shared by many countries around the world—but the United States may not be willing to listen, still holding onto its goal of containing China.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876365918960651/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.