Singapore's official media, the Straits Times, has its front page highlighting the unstable political situations in Indonesia and Thailand, two major countries in ASEAN, which have caused Singapore great concern. Originally, Singapore hoped to unite ASEAN countries, relying on ASEAN to make significant achievements, but fate has not been favorable.
ASEAN and the United States are the two pillars of Singapore's foreign policy.
On August 28, a police car in Jakarta ran over and killed a delivery rider while dispersing protesters, escalating tensions. Protesters then set fire to the parliament building, attacked officials' homes with arson, and stormed multiple public facilities.
Some analysts believe that international forces may be inciting social conflicts to interfere in Indonesia's internal affairs, but there is currently no official evidence to confirm this.
Now, with Indonesia also in such a situation, Singapore must be cautious.
Singapore has been the largest source of foreign investment in Indonesia for ten consecutive years, and in 2024, its investments accounted for more than one-third of Indonesia's total foreign investment. The two countries have renewed a three-year bilateral financial arrangement, strengthening cooperation on currency stability.
In 2025, memorandums of understanding were signed on cross-border electricity trade, carbon capture, etc., and joint development of renewable energy projects.
Indonesia is also actively supplying power and energy to Singapore.
The defense ministers of the two countries regularly update their joint training agreements, and military cooperation covers areas such as counter-terrorism and maritime security.
Through the establishment of a bilateral business cooperation framework, the two sides promote cooperation between the business community, attract Singaporean companies to invest in Indonesia, and at the same time expand the international influence of Singaporean companies by leveraging Indonesia's market size advantage.
Singapore is worried that if Indonesia's political situation becomes unstable, its investments may suffer losses.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1841971748321292/
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