Future of Asia, S’pore far from certain: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — While momentum for greater economic growth and political reform in Asia is picking up, the outlook of the region’s future is far from certain as nations grapple with deep-seated issues such as territorial disputes and the rising threat of religious radicalisation, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Against this backdrop, he reiterated that Singapore cannot take its success for granted and Singaporeans must remain vigilant of foreign and domestic challenges as the Republic strives for a better future beyond its 50th anniversary.

Mr Lee made these comments during a dialogue at the Forbes Global CEO Conference held at Shangri-La Hotel yesterday. Speaking to Forbes Media chairman, Mr Steve Forbes, Mr Lee expressed his concern about threats to the region’s peace, particularly the maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea.

“Temperature has gone up on both (disputes) and they’re not easy to resolve ... it’s a game of brinksmanship and we’ll have to hope there’s no mishap,” he said. “But I don’t see these issues being resolved quickly because sovereignty and pride are involved ... All we can do is manage the disagreements and hope that our grandchildren would be wiser than us and can make progress on it.”

At the same time, regional countries including Singapore must guard against the violence and radical fervour that extremist groups such as the Islamic State are threatening to bring to South-east Asia, Mr Lee said.

“If that goes wrong, we have a problem in Asia and I have a problem in Singapore,” he said. “It’s also incumbent on us to solve domestic challenges such as economic and population growth ... as well as maintaining political and social cohesion in a rapidly changing world with income equality.”

In Singapore, that entails calibrating the inflow of foreigners while pushing for economic restructuring and capability upgrading to ensure higher-quality growth, he said. But while Singaporeans need to be aware of the Republic’s challenges, there are reasons for confidence.

“Looking forward, beyond Singapore’s 50th anniversary, I think that’s what we need to do: To be aware, to be paranoid so that you know there’s always someone that can take your lunch away. But at the same time, to have the confidence that we have a good base and we’re in strong position to do better,” Mr Lee said.

During the dialogue, Mr Lee also shared his views on a wide range of topics such as the state of democracy in Asia, as well as the global economic outlook. Noting that political conditions vary greatly across individual countries in Asia, he said democracy can sometimes hamper a government’s ability to address fundamental issues, citing the example of India versus China.

Meanwhile, the world’s economic conditions remain uncertain, he cautioned, with the eurozone still struggling to address its structural issues, while the United States continues its long and weak recovery.