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Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Going alone is not the answer to security questions: Chan Chun Sing
Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing speaking at the sixth and final plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 1. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH Shangri-La Dialogue 2025 Going alone is not the answer to security questions: Chan Chun Sing SINGAPORE – Political and military leaders must arrest the temptation to go it alone when they feel insecure, as history has numerous examples of such an approach backfiring, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on June 1. This is as attempts to prioritise one's security without due regard for international laws and norms could easily lead to greater insecurity in others, sparking a vicious spiral that begets greater insecurity, Mr Chan said at the sixth and final plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue. This applies to all aspects of security, including countries' economic well-being, he added, recalling a point made by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the forum a day earlier that faltering trade has consequences that ripple beyond any one region. Mr Chan said today's world is not unlike the 1930s, when beggar-thy-neighbour policies arguably contributed to expansionist and irredentist foreign policies that culminated in World War 2. As competition in the security and economic domains increase, so has the need for guardrails and communication channels to reduce the risk of miscalculation, he said. He cited how Singapore and Malaysia both respected an international tribunal's directive when there was a disagreement over reclamation works, and thereby managed to reach an amicable settlement. 'While the issue began with acrimony, the warmth and civility between the negotiating teams led to an amicable resolution,' he noted. The two neighbours still have their differences, but have continued to deepen coop e ration, such as through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, he said. Mr Chan emphasised that while great powers have great responsibilities when it comes to upholding international rules, small countries also have agency and responsibility in upholding the global economic and security order. On its part, Singapore is committed to engaging both the US and China, without taking any sides. 'We believe that taking sides, regardless of issues and context, breeds irrelevance,' he said. 'And if one is irrelevant, it will almost certainly require (one) to take sides.' Instead, Singapore takes the side of principles that promote a more integrated global economic and security order, where states have a fair chance to compete and can improve the lives of their people through trade rather than war, he added. Noting that emerging security challenges have to do with threats against networked infrastructure that transcend borders, Mr Chan said Singapore is working with Asean partners to develop principles to facilitate defence cooperation of the region's critical underwater infrastructure. Fellow speakers at the plenary also shared different ways by which small states can contribute to tackling security problems. Sweden's defence minister Pål Jonson noted his country's expertise in psychological defence and in responding to information operations, and how small states like Sweden and Singapore are well-ranked when it comes to innovation and research capabilities. Papua New Guinea defence minister Billy Joseph said his country amplifies its voice by working through multilateral forums such as the South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting and the Pacific Islands Forum. The Pacific Response Group, a disaster coordination organisation formed in November 2024, also assisted Vanuatu following an earthquake there a month later, added Mr Joseph. Responding to a question about Singapore's diplomatic approach, Mr Chan said small states are realistic that engagement is not on the basis of sympathy or charity, but on being successful and having value-add. Singapore's approach is to look at the principles that will best enable it to survive and thrive, he added. For instance on Ukraine, Mr Chan said the principle the Republic holds dear is that of the sovereignty of nations, as it would be a dangerous world if one country can march into another on the basis of wanting to right the wrongs of history. Holding to this principle meant it has stood up to great powers in the past for doing the same, as the greater risk is of the principle no longer being observed by countries big and small, he added. On questions about understanding China's perspectives, Mr Chan said it is in the interest of everyone to work with China, and vice versa. This year's summit was the first time since 2019 that China did not send its defence minister, which raised questions about Beijing's continued engagement with the region. If China perceives that the world does not respect or understand it sufficiently, it is incumbent upon the country to use every opportunity possible, including the Shangri-La Dialogue, to get its voice heard and make clear its stance, said Mr Chan. Mr Chan urged countries to deepen efforts to understand others, so that they do not end up with simplistic interpretations or misreadings of other people's intentions. Mr Chan was also asked if Singapore would apply the concept of self-determination to the case of Taiwan. Responding, he said it was scary to hear simplistic explanations that try to frame the conflict as one between democracy and autocracy, or to draw 'unhelpful parallels' between Taiwan and Ukraine. How the issue is going to be resolved, if not managed, will have to be determined by the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, he added. People on both sides share similar end goals of having security, including economic security, and the hope is that channels of communication can be opened so they can discuss where their shared future lies, said Mr Chan. Mr Chan said his final takeaway from the forum was the need for deeper cooperation, given the complexity of the issues confronting the world. 'Today, the challenges that we face are not geographically isolated challenges (but) are interwoven,' he said. 'And to solve those need to build the solutions at the network level, and all of us can contribute to that - be it big or small countries.' Wong Pei Ting is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics and social affairs. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Everyday Hero: A lifetime of service
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)—The Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor, was recently presented to Rear Adm. James H Flatley III aboard the USS Yorktown—the perfect place to honor a man who dedicated his life to protecting others and preserving history. 'It's a man whose given service over himself his whole life and is an example to us all,' said Chauncey Clark with the USS Yorktown Foundation. Similar words are often spoken about Admiral. Flatley, who was surrounded by family and friends for the special ceremony The Order of the Palmetto is presented to the South Carolinian who has demonstrated extraordinary lifetime achievements, service, and contributions of national and statewide significance. Admiral Flatley, who is 91 years old and lives in Mount Pleasant, graduated from the Naval Academy. He was a US Naval aviator from 1956 until his retirement in 1987. He flew combat missions in Vietnam. But what made this ceremony special for Admiral Flatley was that it was aboard the same aircraft carrier in which his father landed the first Hellcat fighter plane. 'That meant a lot because it goes so far back to my dad helping put this ship together and get it to sea. You know he was a World War 2 hero. All the more reason to follow in his footsteps, which I tried to do,' Flatley explained. Admiral Flatley is no stranger to making history. In 1963, he became the first person to complete 21 C-130 Hercules landings on an aircraft carrier. In later years, after retirement, Admiral Flatley also ran Patriots Point for seven years. He has spent a lifetime dedicated to service. 'I think you can't find a lifetime that's more expansive than his was from his Navy career to his community career,' said Clark. He is the kind of person who thanks others who were there to thank him, and now he will always be remembered for his outstanding service and career. 'That's why we honor him here today. It's something we're losing in the American society today. People that give everything for their country and for their family' said Clark. Congratulations, Admiral Flatley! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Son of Arrowtown's colourful life
Jim Childerstone, aka 'Five-mile Fred', who died recently, aged 90, was well known to many Whakatipu residents despite living out of town for the past 30 years. Philip Chandler delves into his full life and his interesting take on wilding pines. Forestry consultant, logger, writer, hiker, golfer, adventurer ... the list goes on. Third-generation Arrowtowner Jim Childerstone, who died recently, aged 90, might have lived with his wife Margot in North Otago for the past 30 years, but Arrowtown was still where his heart was. Raised there, his parents were Mary and Walter, and Mary's father was well-known local doctor, William Ferguson. When almost 7 he and Mary joined Walter in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he developed tea plantations. However, it was World War 2, and as Japan was about to invade they escaped by boat to South Africa. At one school he learnt rugby "the South African way under a former Springbok", he said. On arriving home he returned to Arrowtown School. He wrote he and school mates risked their lives exploring old gold mining tunnels. In his book, Up the Rees Valley, he wrote about 60-plus years of local trips and tramps with friends including summiting, with a schoolmate, the Remarkables in 1952 during a challenging 16-hour day. Margot says at Lincoln College, near Christchurch, where he received an agricultural diploma and post-grad degree in soil and water, he paid for most of his books from goldpanning in Arrowtown. She adds he stayed an extra two years to play on the college basketball team. He started his journalism career at Auckland's Herald newspaper, but had the opportunity to earn more as a pneumatic drill operator before a stint as a Sydney Morning Herald court reporter. He later travelled to Europe, sleeping on beaches in Greece, then in Canada worked on the Calgary Herald and was a part-time ski patroller in Banff. He and Margot, who grew up in Argentina, met in a London pub and married close by, in Hampstead, in '68. Jim worked for the British government's Central Office of Information which relocated him to the Solomon Islands. "We had two and a-half years, which was fantastic," Margot says, "and Jim trained some young Solomon Islanders as reporters." They had a summer in Queenstown, Jim working as an Earnslaw stoker, then returned to England. They popped back for good in the mid-1970s and bought a 5.5-hectare Closeburn property, near Queenstown, which was about 70% covered in wilding pines. They lived in their pantechnicon, Margot recalls, while Jim built a log cabin from Corsican pines. Visitors commented on its lovely smell, she says — they later moved into a larger residence built of Douglas firs milled above One Mile Creek. Jim operated a portable mill, cutting timber, mostly wildings, for houses in nearby Sunshine Bay and Fernhill but also over at Walter Peak, at the Arrowtown golf course and even Stewart Island. He set up a timber yard in Industrial Place, then a larger one called Closeburn Timber Corner where today's Glenda Dr is. Meanwhile, he wrote his 'Five-mile Fred' column in Mountain Scene over three years — named after Queenstown's Five Mile Creek, not Frankton's later Five Mile. They were his and mates like 'Twelve-mile Trev's' musings on topics of the day from "up on the diggings". His columns made a book, Of gold dust, nuggets & bulldust, accompanied by Garrick Tremain cartoons. The Childerstones also developed the Closeburn Alpine Park campground, but were badly burnt in the '87 sharemarket crash. The couple, who eventually paid off most of their debts, moved first to Arrowtown then, helped by Lotto winnings, bought in Hampden, North Otago, in '94. Jim still frequented Queenstown, staying in hotels with Margot when she'd bring through Spanish and Italian tours during her days as a tour guide. He established a forestry consultancy, and took a stand against the wholesale destruction of wilding 'pests'. "There are practical ways of attacking the problem rather than the gung-ho attitude of fundamentalist conservation groups," he told Scene on the release of his book, The Wilding Conifer Invasion — Potential Resource or Pest Plant, in 2017. Pointing also to the ugliness of sprayed Douglas firs on hillsides, he argued wilding trees could be harvested for high-grade building timber and biofuels could be extracted from wood waste while also applauding locals Michael Sly and Mathurin Molgat for tapping wildings for essential oil products. Queenstown's Kim Wilkinson, who recalls hiking in the hills with Margot and Jim on Sundays before enjoying their hospitality, says "Jim was still hiking around the hills in his late 80s and even in his later years had the mental energy and enthusiasm of a young man in his 20s". Margot says "people are coming out of the woodwork saying 'he did this for me', nobody has a bad word to say about him". She reveals before he died there had been moves made for them to potentially retire to a pensioner flat in Arrowtown.
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Ukraine keeps Russia guessing over participation in June 2 peace talks
Ukraine on Friday resisted pressure from Moscow and Washington to commit itself to attending peace talks with Russia on June 2, saying it first needed to see the proposals Russian negotiators plan to bring to the talks. After US President Donald Trump urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a peace deal to end their three-year-old war, Russia proposed sitting down with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul. Kyiv responded by saying it was committed in principle to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals, which it had still not received. "We are ready for dialogue, but we demand clarity — clear and, most importantly, balanced proposals," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in remarks aired on national television. The war, the biggest on the European continent since World War 2, began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Expectations for the talks are modest because the positions staked out so far by the two sides are far apart and work between them has yet to begin in earnest on narrowing the gap.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Wexford politician follows James McClean's lead by refusing to wear poppy – ‘Let's not use such powerful military symbolism'
While footballer James McClean has frequently incurred the wrath of match-going fans in the UK for his refusal to wear the remembrance poppy during games, a Wexford politician has been met with a more measured reaction for his refusal to do the same. As the cathaoirleach of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD) Aontú councillor Jim Codd was recently invited to meet with his peers in Fishguard, Wales, to discuss the ongoing partnership between the regions. However, with those across the channel marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2, Cllr Codd found himself in a somewhat difficult position upon his arrival at the Welsh port.
