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CNA
a day ago
- Business
- CNA
If Singapore has to pick a side, it will choose principles, says Chan Chun Sing
SINGAPORE: If Singapore has to choose sides, it will choose the side of principles that uphold an integrated global economic and security order, underpinned by law and sovereignty, said Singapore's Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing on Sunday (Jun 1). This way, "states, big and small, have a fair chance to compete and improve the lives of their people through trade and not war", Mr Chan said during the sixth and final plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top defence summit. Two other defence ministers - Papua New Guinea's Billy Joseph and Sweden's Pal Jonson - also part of the session, titled "Enhancing security cooperation for a stable Asia-Pacific". In his speech, Mr Chan referred to Southeast Asia's engagement of the United States, China and other countries as a "geostrategic necessity". "For Singapore, we believe that taking sides, regardless of issues and context, breeds irrelevance; and if one is irrelevant, it will almost certainly require (one) to take sides," said Mr Chan, who is attending his first Shangri-La Dialogue as defence minister. He added: "If we have to choose sides, may we choose the side of principles - principles that uphold a global order where we do not descend into the law of the jungle, where the mighty do what they wish and the weak suffer what they must." All states have agency and responsibilities to uphold the global economic and security order for a "common benefit". Singapore is thus committed to work with like-minded partners and with a "web of bilateral, plurilateral, multilateral networks for the common good," said Mr Chan. REWRITING HISTORY During the session, Mr Chan was asked whether choosing the side of principles meant not choosing a side. In response, he said Singapore does not base its positions on who the key players are in a given issue. "Instead, we look at every situation very carefully to decide what are the principles that are at stake." He cited the war in Ukraine as an example, saying the conflict involves different levels of interest. Some are concerned because the war disrupted global supply chains and economic security, while for others, the core issue is sovereignty. "These are all valid concerns. But if I may suggest, the highest order of concern for all of us should be the principles of how we conduct international relationships," said Mr Chan. "If one country, whether big or small, can march into another country on the basis that they will want to right the wrongs of history, then I think we live in a very dangerous world. "And certainly for Singapore, because we have only been independent for the last 60 years," said the defence minister. Should this attempt to rewrite history happen, it would leave "very little room" for small countries to be who they want to be, he added. Singapore adheres to a set of principles that have contributed to and underpinned the country's survival and success, and when assessing any particular issue, it looks "very carefully" from this perspective, Mr Chan said. He noted that Singapore has, at times, taken positions not aligned with those of major powers: "Yes, certainly so." "There have been instances in history where superpowers went in to another country, a smaller country, and we objected," said Mr Chan. "There have been instances whereby the rules on the freedom of navigation have been violated, and we have objected." He also noted that people have asked about fears of being penalised by the superpowers for not supporting their positions.
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
Macron calls on Europe and Asia to ‘unite against bullies'
President Macron has called on the countries in Europe and Asia to build a 'new coalition of independence' united in refusing to choose between the United States and China. In a rebuke seemingly directed as much to President Trump as President Xi, Macron issued a 'call to action' to reject coercion, greed, bullying and 'negative passions', warning that a failure to resolve crises in Ukraine and Gaza would be 'a killer for our credibility' of the rich countries of the world. 'The main risk today is the risk of division of the world, and a division between the two superpowers, and the instruction given to all the others: 'You have to choose your side,'' he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a gathering of defence ministers and experts in Singapore. 'If we do so, we will kill the global order, and we will destroy methodically all the institutions we created after the Second World War in order to preserve peace.' Macron said that the war in Ukraine had direct implications for east Asia, and that a victory for President Putin would embolden Xi to take military action against Taiwan or the islands occupied by southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea. In a clear reproach to Trump, he criticised the idea of 'equidistance between Ukraine and Russia and the [idea] that this is a European conflict and that we are … spending too much energy, too much time, and creating too much pain for the rest of the world'. He told the gathering: 'This is a total mistake, because if we consider that Russia could be allowed to take a part of the territory of Ukraine without any restriction, without any constraint, without any reaction of the global order … what could happen in Taiwan? What would you do the day something happened in the Philippines?' He added: 'What is at stake in Ukraine is our common credibility to be sure that we are still able to preserve territorial integrity and sovereignty of people.' The annual Shangri-La Dialogue, organised by the British think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies, frequently includes exchanges of criticism between the US and Chinese defence ministers. Before Trump's re-election, leaders of western European countries could reliably have been expected to line up behind the US. It is a sign of the huge changes that have occurred in the past six months that a French president now speaks of the US and China with almost equal wariness. • Fraser Nelson: Europe may be looking to China but Britain shouldn't 'France is a friend and an ally of the United States … and we do co-operate, even if sometimes we disagree and compete, with China,' Macron said. 'We want to co-operate, but we don't want to be instructed on a daily basis what is allowed and what is not allowed, and how our lives will change because of the decision of a single person.' Macron was explicit in his wish to convene a third bloc dedicated to 'strategic autonomy', bringing together Nato governments and Asian countries as diverse as Vietnam and Indonesia, both of which he visited before his arrival in Singapore. He concluded his speech with a 'call for action for Europe and Asia to work together on a coalition of independence. A coalition of countries that won't be enrolled and won't be bullied. And finally, a coalition of countries determined not to yield to the whims of the greed of others, but to chart a peaceful way to bring balance in trouble and to affirm negative passions can be opposed.' Like Britain, France in recent years has sent military forces, including aircraft carriers, to east Asia in an assertion of the region's strategic importance. Macron said he had formerly been cautious about 'being enrolled in someone else's strategic rivalry', but that the deployment of North Korean troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine in a European war had changed the situation. He said: 'If China doesn't want Nato being involved in southeast Asia or in Asia, they should prevent clearly [North Korea from being] engaged on the European soil.' On Saturday morning Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, will speak from the same stage. China's defence minister, Dong Jun, will not attend, however, sending in his place a relatively junior admiral from China's National Defence University.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Macron chides Trump, China over trade, Ukraine, Gaza: policies 'will kill global order'
French President Emmanuel Macron struck a serious note on Friday in his address to a Shangri-La security forum in Singapore, in which he hit on some of the biggest crises spanning the globe and appeared to issue an indirect warning to President Donald Trump and China. "I will be clear, France is a friend and an ally of the United States," Macron said. "And [France] is a friend, and we do cooperate - even if sometimes we disagree and compete - with China." "The main risk today is the division of two super-powers," he warned. Macron's speech was a warning to the U.S. and China that if they force nations to choose sides as tensions remain heightened following Trump's triple-digit tariff threat, such a move would "kill the global order." "We will destroy methodically, all the institutions we created after the Second World War in order to preserve peace and to have cooperation on health, on climate, on human rights and so on," he added. "We are neither China nor the U.S., we don't want to depend on any of them," he said. "We want to cooperate. But we don't want to be instructed on a daily basis what is allowed, what is not allowed and how our life will change because of the decision of a single person." But the French president didn't limit his speech to trade concerns, and chided China for aiding Russia amid its illegal invasion of Ukraine, and its refusal to play a part in stopping North Korea from sending troops to fight in the war for Moscow. "If China doesn't want NATO being involved in Southeast Asia or in Asia, they should prevent DPRK to be engaged on European soil," Macron said in reference to the formal name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Ultimately, he warned that every conflict that is plaguing European, American, Middle Eastern and Asian partnerships -- including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza -- are interconnected and there is a "big risk" that the universal principles which connect these conflicts have been forgotten. "If we consider that Russia could be allowed to take a part of the territory of Ukraine without any restriction, without any constraint, without any reaction of the global could happen in Taiwan? What would you do the day something happened in [the] Philippines?" the French president asked. "What is at stake in Ukraine is our common credibility to be sure that we are still able to preserve territorial integrity and sovereignty of people, no double standard," Macron said in a counterargument to claims that the war in Ukraine is a European issue. This extended to the war in Gaza, and Macron argued that giving Israel "a free pass" for its military operations in Gaza that have led to a humanitarian crisis could "kill our own credibility in the rest of the world."
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Division between US and China is the biggest risk confronting world now, France's Macron says
SINGAPORE: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday (May 30) that division between the two superpowers, the United States and China, is the main risk currently confronting the world as he emphasised the need for building new coalitions between Paris and partners in the Indo-Pacific. Macron is visiting the region as France and the European Union aim to strengthen their commercial ties in Asia to offset uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariff measures. "I will be clear, France is a friend and an ally of the United States, and is a friend, and we do cooperate - even if sometimes we disagree and compete - with China," said Macron, who was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defence forum, alongside a two-day state visit to Singapore. The French president said Asia and Europe have a common interest in preventing the disintegration of the global order. "The time for non-alignment has undoubtedly passed, but the time for coalitions of action has come, and requires that countries capable of acting together give themselves every means to do so," Macron said. Macron is following the leaders of China, Japan and other European countries in visiting the region in recent weeks, in a sign of Southeast Asia's strategic importance amid uncertainties on global supply chains and trade.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Singapore and France working together to put in place outlines of new global order: PM Wong
SINGAPORE: Singapore and France are two "like-minded" countries working together to put in place the outlines of a new global order, with the old one of decades past changing, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Friday (May 30). Speaking to members of the media at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Wong said both countries believe deeply in multilateralism and a rules-based global order. But this is now "shifting" and "no one knows what the new order will be in the coming years". 'In this period of transition, it's important that like-minded countries work together to put in place the outlines and the pillars of a new order that will ensure stability and continued shared prosperity for countries around the world,' he added. France and Singapore are doing this not just bilaterally but also through wider initiatives involving the European Union, ASEAN and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnershi p, said Mr Wong. 'These are significant moves which I believe will help to further emphasise the principles of free trade, of the rules-based trading system, and will ensure that they are able to put in place the new pillars of multilateralism that will eventually emerge In the years to come." Mr Macron was on the second of a two-day state visit to Singapore, which also saw a dozen agreements signed across various sectors, including on mutual extradition of fugitives and cooperation on nuclear energy. The two countries also upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. ENGAGING WITH ASEAN Asked by the media on Friday how France was looking to present itself as a "third force" in Southeast Asia amid US-China rivalry, Mr Macron said his country believes in the same values such as a world order and open trade. 'We don't want to depend on another. We want to cooperate with both as far as we can and we can cooperate for growth and prosperity and safety for our people,' he added. The French president noted that France was also looking at how precisely to engage with ASEAN as well as Indo-Pacific states. Responding to the same question, Mr Wong said that while there has been 'a lot of focus' on the US and China, there are other major powers such as France to engage with. 'France has significant capabilities across a wide range of different areas ... but we also welcome France to do more, not just with Singapore, but also with the rest of Southeast Asia." Singapore is the third and final stop of Mr Macron's Southeast Asia tour, following trips to Vietnam and Indonesia. In Vietnam - his first formal visit - deals for 20 Airbus planes and cooperation on nuclear energy were signed, among others. On Mr Macron's trip to Indonesia, France and Indonesia signed a preliminary agreement that could lead to new orders of French military equipment such as Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene submarines. 'By having these additional links for all the major powers to have stakes in Southeast Asia and Asia to work together to find win-win arrangements, we believe such a configuration makes for a stabler configuration in Asia,' Mr Wong said. SINGAPORE AS A 'STEADFAST SUPPORTER' Mr Wong earlier spoke about France and Singapore sharing numerous common areas, including in sectors such as security, economy and energy. 'What Singapore will bring to the table as a constructive partner is that we will always be a steadfast supporter, to advance these areas of shared interest together, in order to achieve win-win outcomes for both sides.' On Friday, other agreements were signed in the areas of security, defence, artificial intelligence, education, aviation and maritime affairs. An annual security dialogue was also established. These agreements show the 'deep and significant' levels of trust between both countries, showing that Singapore will always be a reliable, credible and steadfast partner to France, Mr Wong noted. Singapore and France celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations this year. France is the first European Union member state to establish a strategic partnership with Singapore. Singapore is also the only non-NATO country with a military presence in France, which hosts the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Advanced Jet Training Detachment at Cazaux Air Base near Bordeaux. Later on Friday, the French president will deliver the keynote speech at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's largest forum on security and defence.
