US-S’pore ties poised to hit new highs

When United States Defence Secretary Ashton Carter visited Singapore in June, he told a press conference that the US had “no better friend than Singapore”.

Though officials are sometimes prone to such hyperbole, in Singapore’s case, given its vital contribution to US economic and security policy over the past few decades, one would be hard pressed to disagree.

Indeed, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visits Washington next week for the rare honour of a state dinner, US officials say his trip will be as much an occasion to highlight the city-state’s status as America’s indispensable partner for the past five decades as it is an opportunity to deepen cooperation amid challenges.

For the US, Singapore is not just a strong bilateral partner, but a regional anchor and active global contributor.

Economically, Singapore has enjoyed the mammoth share of US foreign direct investment to South-east Asia, and was instrumental in urging Washington to join the P-4 trade group that eventually evolved into what is now termed the “US-led” Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Security-wise, the city-state has been a key point for US access, serving as home to a US Navy logistics command unit that coordinates operations and exercises, as well as host to littoral combat ships and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

Indeed, as Mr Kurt Campbell, America’s former top Asian diplomat and the architect of the Obama administration’s “rebalance”, writes in his newly-released book, “Singapore is the most defining example of a country that has stretched the definition of partner by providing uncommon capacity and support to the United States”.

Today, Singapore continues to be at the forefront of America’s priorities in the region, something both countries will look to highlight and expand during Mr Lee’s visit and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties.

In the economic realm, the US sees Singapore as a key partner in helping advance region-wide initiatives, including the US-Asean Connect — an effort to better coordinate US economic engagement in South-east Asia. And on the defence side, though a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) inked in November 2015 already expands cooperation to include fields such as biosecurity and cyberdefence, efforts are also underway to strengthen relationships between various institutions of the two countries, as well as in multilateral exercises.

Progress is also expected in other areas, including science and technology and people-to-people ties, attesting to both the breadth and depth of the burgeoning US-Singapore strategic partnership, which officially began in 2012. Yet, even if both sides will be keen to celebrate how far they have come in 50 years, they also remain clear-eyed about the challenges before them.

Mr Lee’s trip to the US comes amid uncertainty about the sustainability of America’s presence in the Asia-Pacific ahead of its presidential elections this November. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has advanced a domestic-centric, protectionist foreign policy that threatens to shatter the decades-long bipartisan consensus undergirding US-Asia policy, which rests on the twin pillars of free trade and alliances.

Even his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, who oversaw the roll-out of America’s rebalance policy as former Secretary of State, has had to backpedal on her support for the TPP in recognition of the populist domestic climate.

Continuing the Singaporean tradition of providing frank advice to the US dating back to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, PM Lee can be expected to reiterate the dire consequences of a weakened US commitment to Asia in his various engagements, which will include a speech co-sponsored by the US-Asean Business Council, and US Chamber of Commerce.

With some polls now showing Mr Trump leading Mrs Clinton, there will be lingering doubts about whether Mr Lee’s words of wisdom will ultimately be in vain.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, though polls do not have to be held until January 2021, and the ruling People’s Action Party performed well in the last election, politics is gradually becoming more contested. This could have consequences on the US-Singapore strategic partnership.

As the US engages a broader range of actors in Singapore’s changing political landscape, old differences over democracy and human rights could periodically resurface and cause some turbulence in the relationship.

And as Singapore contends with a more vocal population increasingly challenging policymaking, the city-state will have to work harder to get the necessary domestic political support to sustain its alignments with other countries, including the US.

As these developments play out in both countries, the US-Singapore strategic partnership is also operating in a tumultuous and fragmented world, with a dangerous Islamic State (IS), simmering Middle East, resurgent Russia, rising China, frail Europe and weak global economy.

Singapore has already been playing its role in tackling these challenges, whether with the US through its membership in the global coalition to counter the IS, or on its own as the country coordinator for Asean-China dialogue relations as the regional grouping continues to struggle to achieve consensus following the July 12 South China Sea ruling.

But confronting these manifold threats may also require the two countries to think more boldly and creatively about how to expand ties even further, be it through strengthening the architecture of their bilateral cooperation or even enhancing coordination with other like-minded states.

In a telegram dated Jan 3, 1968, back to the US State Department, America’s first envoy to Singapore Francis Joseph Galbraith recounted the late Mr Lee’s remark to him that while his generation could prepare the way for a close relationship between the US and Singapore, it would be up to the next generation to implement and realise the full import of it.

With PM Lee’s visit to the US next week, the two countries will attempt to move even closer to realising the full import of ties as they commemorate the 50th anniversary of their relationship.

With Singapore continuing to welcome the US’ engagement of the region and the US seeing Singapore as an indispensable partner, both sides will have a strong foundation on which to build.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Prashanth Parameswaran is Associate Editor at The Diplomat magazine based in Washington, D.C. and a doctoral candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He writes extensively about Southeast Asia, Asian security issues, and U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific.