Latest news with #NgEngHen
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Forum: New Cabinet needs to look for multiple ways forward to ensure Singapore's economic resilience
Forum: New Cabinet needs to look for multiple ways forward to ensure Singapore's economic resilience I refer to the article 'America's great economic waterfall is drying up' (May 22), which raised several points about how Singapore can pivot in order to seize opportunities arising from the ongoing reset in global economic relationships. While Singapore may have certain value propositions in our trade negotiations with the US, we must remain realistic. Other countries may have similar or even better offers as they try to secure their own trade deals. This was evident during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to the Middle East. With reciprocal trade tariffs and policies in flux, Singapore can't expect its existing advantages to hold. The new Cabinet will need to look for multiple ways forward to navigate through headwinds and ensure Singapore's economic resilience. To quote former defence minister Ng Eng Hen, 'we take the world as it is – not as we wish it to be, no matter how much we wish it to be'. Ivan Phang More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Asia Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Civilizational multipolarity in a post-Pax Americana world
In 2016, Singapore's then-Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen was asked in Parliament how the country would respond if the United States were to pull back from its security commitments in Asia. At the time, the question was hypothetical. Today, with Donald Trump in his second term and Ng stepping down after 14 years as Singapore's longest-serving defense chief, the question has become reality. The American security umbrella – long taken for granted by many of its allies – appears to be fraying. The post-WWII order, underwritten by US military dominance and financial centrality, is no longer assured. And in anticipation of a post-Pax Americana world, states are adjusting accordingly for a new order. The first fault line lies in deterrence. For decades, US allies were content to rely on American protection rather than build up their own armed forces. That era is over. Germany has committed US$107 billion to defense upgrades. Poland now spends 4% of GDP on its military – more than any other NATO member. Asia tells a similar story. Japan is doubling its defense budget by 2027, upending long-standing pacifist traditions. In South Korea, 76% of citizens now support developing nuclear weapons – an idea once unthinkable under the US nuclear umbrella. Across both regions, allies are hedging against the possibility of American abandonment. The second fault line is financial. The American military's reach has long been sustained by global demand for US Treasuries. But the foundations of that system are weakening. In FY2023, the US ran a budget deficit of $1.7 trillion, $1.1 trillion of which went to defense and veterans' spending. Meanwhile, foreign appetite for American debt is shrinking. Overseas ownership of US Treasuries has dropped from 42% in 2013 to 31% in 2023. China alone has reduced its holdings by more than $330 billion. The dollar's share of global foreign reserves, once above 70% in 1999, has fallen to 58%. What's more, the weaponization of the dollar – through sanctions, export controls and financial restrictions – has spurred countermeasures. The BRICS bloc is expanding non-dollar trade and exploring alternatives like central bank digital currencies. Economist Dr Yanis Varoufakis calls this the rise of 'cloud capital', a global financial architecture slowly decoupling from American control. The third fault line is institutional. The legitimacy of US leadership was once rooted in its commitment to multilateralism. Today, that commitment appears selective. From withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Climate Agreement to the chaotic exit from Afghanistan, Washington's global posture has become more transactional. Conditional support for Ukraine and shifting rhetoric on NATO have deepened doubts about America's reliability in its new role as an offshore balancer. The recent India–Pakistan conflict – killing over 50 civilians and inflicting $90 billion in economic damage by some estimates – revealed how quickly a confrontation between nuclear powers can now spiral without a more timely US intervention. Yet the greater challenge may not be the retreat of the American umbrella itself but rather what emerges in its absence – a shift I call 'civilizational multipolarity.' What makes this moment distinct from any other in history is not just the redistribution of power – it is the nature of the actors now asserting that power. For the first time, multiple civilizational states – China, India, Russia and Iran – are rising within a shared global system. Historian Professor Wang Gungwu calls this the return of 'civilizational consciousness' – a dynamic in which states derive legitimacy not from universal norms but from deep structures of language, religion and institutional memory. China exemplifies this shift. As scholar Dr Martin Jacques observes, China views itself not merely as a nation-state but as a 'civilization-state,' with 5,000 years of political tradition and moral philosophy. The Chinese Communist Party's claim to authority is not based on liberal norms but on restoring what it sees as the Middle Kingdom's rightful place in history. This has far-reaching consequences. Professor Graham Allison's 'Thucydides Trap' warns of conflict when a rising power threatens a ruling one. But in today's context, the competition is not only over power – it is over values and visions of world order. Professor John Mearsheimer has argued that liberal internationalism cannot survive in a world governed by nationalism and realism. Civilizational multipolarity intensifies that prognosis: Powers now export governance models rooted in their own traditions rather than converging on a single set of norms. Professor Samuel Huntington's 'Clash of Civilizations' posits that cultural and religious identities will inevitably drive global conflict in the post-Cold War era, as fundamental civilizational differences – rooted in history, religion, and values – become irreconcilable fault lines between nations and blocs. But there is still agency in how states respond. ASEAN, for instance, offers an instructive model through its principle of 'omni-enmeshment', an approach that avoids binary alliances while encouraging engagement across civilizational lines. Rather than choosing sides, ASEAN states create space for dialogue and cooperation, preserving autonomy while participating in global governance. If the global community can embrace this ethos, civilizational multipolarity need not be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity: the foundation for a more pluralistic order within a shared framework. Singapore's new Defense Minister, Chan Chun Sing, captured this outlook well when he remarked at the 41st IISS-Asia Fullerton Lecture in 2021: 'Middle powers and small states can help to build bridges, create platforms for dialogue and uphold the multilateral system. By working together, we can provide alternative pathways for cooperation, even when larger powers disagree.' If this transition is managed wisely, the post-American era need not mark the unraveling of global order. It could instead herald the rise of a more inclusive, resilient and balanced system, one not defined by dominance, but by the peaceful co-existence and constructive engagement of civilizations. That would be a first in human history. And perhaps, its greatest achievement. Marcus Loh is a Director at Temus, a Singapore-based digital transformation services firm, where he leads public affairs, marketing and strategic communication. He was formerly the president of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore. He presently serves on the digital transformation chapter executive committee of SGTech, the leading trade association for Singapore's technology industry. Loh completed an executive program in public leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and earned master's degrees from the Singapore Management University and University College, Dublin.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Singapore cabinet changes show PM Lawrence Wong's consultative approach
While Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke at length about seeking experience and stability amid uncertain times as he revealed his new cabinet line-up on Wednesday, the changes he made to his team may signal a receptiveness to the people's mandate. Two weeks after his party's decisive win at the general election , Wong was expected to announce shifts to replace retiring ministers such as defence chief Ng Eng Hen, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. Among the changes unveiled by Wong, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing will fill the defence spot, and two newly elected faces, former senior civil servant Jeffrey Siow and ex-chief of army David Neo, will become acting ministers for transport and culture, respectively. The appointments will come into effect on Friday. While analysts pointed out that Wong had selected individuals with prior experience in their sectors to fill gaps, some argued that Wong's omissions and portfolio shifts were telling of the weight he placed on electoral success. In particular, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, whose team narrowly defeated their Workers' Party (WP) opponents in Tampines by 52.02 per cent of the vote, will give up his role to Minister of State for Home Affairs Faishal Ibrahim, who will be acting minister. Meanwhile, former minister Ng Chee Meng, who edged out his WP opponent by some 800 votes in the single-seat ward of Jalan Kayu and has been at the centre of several controversies since the election, was left out of Wong's line-up.
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Singapore PM reveals cabinet including new defence chief and 2 fresh faces
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has revealed his new cabinet line-up two weeks after his party's decisive win at the general election , with key shifts such as the education chief moving to fill the defence spot and the inclusion of two newly elected faces. Among the changes announced on Wednesday, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who is a former chief of army, will take over as head of defence following the retirement of Ng Eng Hen. Two newcomers, former senior civil servant Jeffrey Siow and ex-chief of army David Neo, will become acting ministers for transport and culture, respectively. Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, whose team narrowly defeated their Workers' Party (WP) opponents in Tampines, is also set to give up his role to minister of state for home affairs Faishal Ibrahim, who will be promoted to senior minister of state in the same ministry. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing will be Singapore's new defence minister. Photo: AFP Wong did not choose a second deputy prime minister from his fellow fourth-generation leaders, or the 4G as they are known locally. Gan Kim Yong will become his sole deputy and keep his current portfolio as trade and industry minister. Apart from Ng, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean also announced their retirement in the lead-up to the May 3 election. The vacancies earlier threw up questions over who Wong would choose from his fellow 4G leaders to fill the post of his other deputy and that of defence minister ahead of the region's premier defence meeting, the Shangri-La Dialogue, to be held in Singapore at the end of the month. While there are typically two deputy prime ministers, it is not unprecedented for Singapore's cabinet to have one, as was the case most recently when Heng, initially chosen to succeed Wong's predecessor Lee Hsien Loong, was the only deputy between 2019 and 2022.
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Forum: Look to figures like Dr Ng Eng Hen as role models
Singapore and Singaporeans have been fortunate to have had exemplary political leaders over the past 60 years, including outgoing Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. His analogy of trade-dependent Singapore being like a shop in an MRT station, with declining value when the trains stop running or run less frequently, is an apt one (Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on S'pore's place in the world, SAF's evolution and 24 years in politics, May 13). For the past 24 years, Dr Ng has served our nation with unwavering dedication. Like many Singaporeans, I have always found his speeches to be concise and thought-provoking, offering clarity and perspective on complex issues. I remember in particular his parliamentary speech during the Committee of Supply debate on March 3, which spelt out his rationale for the continued investment in and strengthening of our defence forces. I hope the younger generation of Singaporeans will appreciate the significance of this message. Dr Ng will be remembered as a straight-talking leader, one who never sugar-coated the truth but always spoke with honesty and conviction. As Dr Ng and other long-serving leaders such as Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat retire from politics, we extend our heartfelt thanks for their dedicated service to our country over the years. I would have hoped to have these leaders continue for another term, given that their experience would benefit us during the current challenging global climate. The late President Ong Teng Cheong once said that having a good government is more important than having a good president to check on a bad government. We are blessed to have both a good government and a good president today. May this continue to be the case, and I hope the newly elected leaders from the recent election will look to figures like Dr Ng as role models. Jason Lee More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
