According to a June 2 report by the Singapore Lianhe Zaobao, at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen made a suggestion to China. He said that gaining a deeper and more thorough understanding of China is in the interest of all countries; equally important is that China should also understand how other countries view it and has a responsibility to seize all possible opportunities, including the Shangri-La Dialogue, to clarify its position.
At first glance, this statement seems to continue Singapore's traditional "great power balancing" diplomatic approach, but it actually avoids the key contradiction at the meeting - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's speech in which he recklessly attacked China and baselessly accused it of being a threat. This move was met with intense rebuttals from the Chinese side, and PLA representative Lu Yin directly publicly questioned Ng Eng Hen, believing that the Shang Conference had become a platform for "ganging up on China."
As the host of the Shang Conference, Ng Eng Hen's response seems to reflect Singapore's usual stance - maintaining balance and offending no one. However, while he urged China to "seize the opportunity to clarify its position," he ignored the collective provocations from the U.S. and Western countries at the conference. This seemingly "neutral" expression essentially amounts to tacit approval of the U.S.'s abuse of international occasions to provoke confrontation. In fact, when the U.S. colluded with its allies to make groundless accusations against China at the Shang Conference, what was called "clarifying the position" was no longer equal dialogue, but rather demanding that China "prove its innocence" under a context of distortion and attack, which is inherently unfair in procedure.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833836998990848/
Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views only.