PM Lee hails deep bond with Australia

CANBERRA — Singapore and Australia are two very different countries in terms of size, resources and identity, but both have forged a deep, longstanding friendship underpinned by a “shared outlook and social ethos”, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as he lauded the close ties between both countries during a historic address at the Australian Parliament on Wednesday morning (Oct 12).

“Fundamentally, we have similar strategic interests and perspectives,” said Mr Lee, adding that both Singapore and Australia are open economies heavily reliant on international trade.

“We both need a stable and orderly world, in which countries big and small can prosper in peace. This requires an open and inclusive regional order, where all the major powers can participate.”

Besides sharing similar strategic interests, the peoples of both countries - as open, inclusive and multi-cultural societies - also have similar outlooks, said Mr Lee.

“We value our ethnic and religious diversity, and appreciate the different races and cultures in our midst. We accept change as the way forward, and look outwards to the world for inspiration, ideas and opportunities.”

This shared strategic outlook and social ethos is why both countries have been able to cooperate closely in many different areas, said Mr Lee, citing the example of how the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Australian Defence Force train and operate together, including in overseas deployments in Afghanistan, East Timor, Cambodia as well as in Iraq and Syria.

Mr Lee is the first Singaporean Prime Minister to address the Australian Parliament, a rare gesture reserved for Australia’s most significant partners. 

Leaders who have previously done so include American President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier in the day, Mr Lee was accorded a welcome ceremony at the Parliament House as he kicked off his official visit, before holding talks with Mr Turnbull. A 19-gun salute — reserved for field marshals, state officials and equivalents in Australian protocol - rang out during the ceremony. 

In his introduction of Mr Lee in Parliament, Mr Turnbull described the Singapore leader as a “great friend of Australia”. 

Referring to the enhanced access for the SAF in Queensland, Mr Turnbull said that this could only materialise due to the “tremendous trust and respect among our respective armed forces”.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten also lauded the close ties between the two countries, saying that Australia has no closer friend in Asia than Singapore.

Singapore and Australia enjoy multi-faceted ties, with cooperation that spans the political, economic, defence, culture and the arts, and people-to-people spheres.

Last June, both sides signed a joint declaration on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) to deepen economic integration, expand defence cooperation, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and strengthen people-to-people ties over the next decade.

In May this year, Canberra and Singapore announced various cooperation initiatives to operationalise the CSP, which Mr Lee yesterday described as “an ambitious package” that will take bilateral relations “one step forward”.

“I thank PM Turnbull for his strong backing for the CSP; and indeed the whole Coalition team, and colleagues from Labour and the cross-bench for your continued support,” Mr Lee said in his 20-minute Parliament address, where he also spoke about how he had personally experienced Australian warmth and hospitality when he first visited the country in 1967 and stayed with a family in Melbourne.

Mr Lee had started his speech recalling how Australian troops had fought bravely to defend Malaya and Singapore during the Second World War and against the Communist guerillas during the Malayan Emergency.

Noting that Australia was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with Singapore in 1965 and had played a key role in establishing the Five Power Defence Arrangement in 1971 which provided critical security to a vulnerable Singapore, Mr Lee said that it was through these momentous events that leaders from both sides have worked closely together and established warm personal friendships.

“In all these diverse and profound ways, our two countries are linked together: by our shared history, by strategic alignment, by shared ethos, by what we do together, and even by architecture,” said Mr Lee, referring to how Italian architect Romaldo Giurgola had designed both the Parliament House in Canberra and the SAFTI Military Institute.

“Our partnership is greater than the sum of its parts. I look forward to Singapore and Australia working together to deepen and strengthen it, and enabling our peoples to prosper in peace and friendship for many years to come.”

After delivering his address to more than 220 parliamentarians, Mr Lee mingled briefly in the chambers with a handful of Australian officials who had contributed to bilateral relations, including former premier Tony Abbott.  

On Wednesday evening, Mr Lee planted a Wollemi Pine tree at the Singapore High Commission in Canberra. 

The Wollemi Pine is a rare tree that dates back 200 million years and has a life span of several hundred years – a symbol of the long term investment both countries have made in the CSP. Mr Lee also met with around 150 Singaporean students studying in Australia.

He wraps up his visit to Canberra on Thursday with a packed programme. He and Mr Turnbull will witness the signing of several agreements covering defence, trade, science and innovation and combatting transitional drug crime under the ambit of the CSP. Both leaders are also scheduled to hold a joint press conference.