Singapore is small, but it will not accept that it is powerless: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — Even though Singapore’s foreign policy is far from the minds of its citizens, this is an issue that is important to a small country such as Singapore, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the S Rajaratnam Lecture yesterday (Nov 27).

Singapore may have come a long way since independence, but some fundamentals have not changed: Singapore will always be a small country in an uncertain world, with no natural resources.

“We are still surrounded by bigger neighbours, and located in the middle of South-east Asia, a region which is more stable and prosperous than before, but it is still the region where the interests of larger powers intersect, and a region that is far more diverse and less predictable than North America and, until recent years, Europe,” said Mr Lee.

Singapore still has no natural resources, only “our wits and the foreign reserves that we have laboriously built up to see us through difficult times”. “Small countries like ours have constantly to ask ourselves: How can we make sure that we survive, and keep our place in the sun?” said Mr Lee.

Although international relations are based on high-minded principles, the reality is harsher. “It is power that determines which countries prevail and set the agenda,” said Mr Lee.

The United Nations Charter may set out the principle of “sovereign equality” of all states, but in its Security Council, the five permanent members have veto powers while the elected 10 members do not, said Mr Lee. And even among the five, there is a pecking order, even though it is undiplomatic to talk about it, he noted.

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the annexation of Crimea by Russia reflect the realities for small states, but Singapore has refused to accept this as our fate, said Mr Lee.

Singapore’s foreign policy is a balance between realism and idealism — although Singapore has to take the world as it is, “we believe that we can and must defend ourselves and advance our interests”, Mr Lee said.

Singaporeans may be more concerned with things that affect their daily lives such as public transport, healthcare and jobs. “But foreign policy is vital to (secure) our place in the world, to ensure that our region remains stable, to create the external conditions for our economy to prosper and our people to live better lives,” said Mr Lee.