Singapore Has Some Tough Advice for the U.S. and China
Smaller countries caught in the geopolitical crossfire are doing a balancing act, and hostile rhetoric from Washington and Beijing isn’t helping.
China making nice with Singapore.
Photographer: Madoka Ikegami/Getty Images
These are fraught times for Asia-Pacific nations caught in the crossfire of the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry. I recently wrote about how one longtime U.S. ally, the Philippines, is repositioning itself between Washington and Beijing. But Manila is hardly alone in trying to protect itself as the geopolitical giants clash.
Singapore confronts a similar challenge, which was thrown into relief by an interview that its prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, gave last week. Lee's remarks may rankle some U.S. analysts. Yet they highlight the dilemmas faced by weaker states — and point to some imperatives of success for America.