Some bilateral relationships have seen hiccups or problems, but Mr Lee Hsien Loong always sought win-win cooperation and took a long-term perspective, say foreign affairs experts.
Mr Lee at the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore in November 2018. ASEAN is the cornerstone of Singapore’s foreign policy , he has said. SINGAPORE: Ties with the United States , China , Malaysia and Indonesia are four of Singapore’s most important bilateral relationships, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
“Friends in our neighbourhood and also friends among the big powers all over the world, even in faraway places,” he said. “Beyond Malaysia and Indonesia, our most important relationships are with China and with America. “It was a significant gesture. The last time a Singapore PM was officially welcomed in the White House with ceremonies was more than 30 years ago when Mr Lee Kuan Yew went in 1985,” Mr Lee said at the National Day Rally 2016, soon after the trip.
On the economic front, the US-Singapore free trade agreement that came into force in 2004 was the first FTA between the US and an Asian country. Singapore upholds a “One China” policy that sees Taiwan as part of China and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo. Singapore established diplomatic relations with China in 1990 on the basis that its military training programme with Taiwan, which began in 1975, would continue.
While Singapore has no claims on the South China Sea, “in other ways, we do have a lot at stake and three things matter to us, international law, freedom of navigation and a united ASEAN”, he said. “I think this is important in fostering a more mature and realistic relationship with China,” he said. Mr Chin later found out the poem was one of Mr Lee’s favourites. “He liked Su Shi,” said Mr Chin. “He understands not only the Chinese language, he understands the literature.”
He worked with six Malaysian prime ministers and was consistent in his interactions with all of them, said Mr Vanu Gopala Menon, Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia since 2014. During his term, the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat became a regular platform for both sides to come together to enhance bilateral cooperation and make progress on outstanding bilateral issues, said Mr Menon.
“ worked constructively with PM Lee to resolve the longstanding dispute over the location of the checkpoint immigration quarantine facilities of the railway station … the Tanjong Pagar Railway land dispute,” said Dr Chong. The ICJ in 2008 awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore while sovereignty over Middle Rocks – two clusters of rock south of the island – was awarded to Malaysia.
Issues still outstanding include maritime delimitation, reclamation at Pedra Branca, water, and airspace. They are important issues, Mr Lee said last October after a“The fates of our countries are intertwined,” said Mr Menon.
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