Committee of Supply – Head N (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The Chairman: Head N – Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Vikram Nair.

Sino-US Tensions

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang): Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head N of the Estimates be reduced by $100."

I still recall vividly the images of the fall of the Berlin wall as a child. This was the physical manifestation of the "iron curtain" and its fall marked the end of the Cold War. Historians of the time, like Francis Fukoyama described this as the "End of History", the end of mankind's ideological struggle and the triumph of Western liberal democracy.

The subsequent period, in the 1990s saw a defacto unipolar world with the former Soviet Union in crisis and the US as the sole superpower. Singapore had always been a historic and strong ally of the US in this region and this marked the way for development of a different kind. The whole world could come together and look for mutually beneficial economic collaborations. Economic growth through multi-lateralism prospered during this period.

This also paved the way for Singapore to engage China more deeply and China-Singapore relations started officially in 1990. And this was at a time when many other developed countries had imposed sanctions on China following the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

Singapore has always tried to play a constructive role in its international relationships, and I understand, from the start of international relations in 1990, has been a quiet spokesperson championing China's integration into the world economy.

Deng Xiaoping and his team continued economic liberalisation through the 1990s and China grew steadily. Given China's base of more than a billion people, the effect of economic growth has been phenomenal. China has steadily moved up the ladder in economic size and has since become the world's second largest economy, overtaking Japan in 2011.

Along with its economic growth, Chinese influence around the world has also grown steadily. China has become a major trading partner for most countries, including the US and a big investor in many regional countries, including in many parts of ASEAN. Most of this influence has been positive and mutually beneficial for all countries involved.

However, there will always be an element of displacement when a new power rises. And unfortunately, relations between China and US have taken a more adversarial tone. The US has accused China of trading "unfairly" and has imposed tariffs on Chines imports. China has retaliated, and it appears a trade war is developing between these two economic giants, the two largest economies in the world.

This is worrying because it runs counter to all the hard work that has been achieved over the decades since GATT and subsequently the World Trade Organization (WTO) removed trade barriers and facilitated world trade. Singapore too has been caught in the middle with some of the US tariffs affecting Singapore's goods unintentionally.

Current trade tensions between the US and China are worrying. While reports from recent negotiations between both sides have appeared positive, prolonged tensions could have a severe impact on the global and regional economy. These tensions are also spilling out into other areas, such as technology. Singapore has had strong relations with both the US and China. What is the outlook of US-China relations? I will be grateful if the Ministry can also share how Singapore manages relations with both countries, and how we can better position ourselves amidst these tensions?

Another manifestation of this tension is in the South China sea, where China has had competing claims with a number of ASEAN allies and has taken an increasingly assertive stance. The US, of course, like many other maritime countries with an interest in these straits, has asserted its right of free passage over these waters. Of course, Singapore hopes the dispute will be resolved in accordance with international law, but that requires all parties involved to willingly submit the matter for determination in the event of a dispute.

There have been news reports of China's military activities in the South China Sea, while the US and its allies have conducted Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the region. ASEAN is negotiating a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea with China. Singapore has been a champion of this. I will be grateful if the MFA can provide an update on these negotiations, as well as the outlook for the situation in the South China Sea.

I would like to take my second and third cuts together.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

ASEAN Centrality

Mr Vikram Nair: Chairman, ASEAN was originally an alliance in 1967 between a small number of non-Communist South East Asian countries, namely Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. These countries were also our closest neighbours in terms of proximity. The relationship was close as we had alignment of interests in economic growth and political and security interests as well. Brunei, another close ally and neighbour became a member in 1984. At this time, much of the rest of ASEAN included Communist countries and the Cold War divided us.

Following the end of the Cold War, ASEAN engaged many of these countries in Indo-China as well as Myanmar with a view to building mutually beneficial economic relationships. Eventually, these countries joined the fold in the course of the 1990s.

Of course, as any group gets bigger, there are more likely to be differences of opinion and interests, and ASEAN has not been immune to this either. In recent years, ASEAN members have had differences over matters such as the South China Sea and on how to deal with the Rakhine state in Myanmar.

However, despite these differences, we still have much in common and many areas on which we cooperate. As individual countries, we are relatively small, but as a group, we account for a population of more than 600 million with a GDP of more than USD$2.8 trillion.

Singapore undertook the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018, when ASEAN was at an inflection point. Singapore had sought to foster consensus within ASEAN on some of the key values that should underpin any framework for continued regional engagement. This includes ASEAN Centrality, inclusiveness, economic benefit, and support for a rules-based international order.

Against the backdrop of a retreat from multilateralism and intensifying Sino-US competition which I spoke about earlier, how can ASEAN strengthen its centrality and try to speak in one collective voice on the more contentious regional developments and global issues?

Relations with Malaysia

Our closest neighbour and with whom we have the strongest ties, in terms of culture, relationships and history is Malaysia. Singaporeans and Malaysians still make regular trips and the Causeway is the most heavily used link in the world between two countries. Most of us still have close family and friends living there.

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As such, it is always sad then relationships between the two governments worsen. Following the change of government in Malaysia, there has been an emergence of new tensions in bilateral relations with Malaysia. This started with a stalling on joint projects such as the high speed rail and later the RTS. There were also public statements that Malaysia will be re-considering matters such as the agreement on water.

The most worrying recent developments have been the two Malaysian vessels that came into our waters following a declaration of new port limits for Johore. These vessels still remain in our waters although the governments on both sides have taken steps to de-escalate matters.

Given that Malaysia is our closest neighbour and both countries are highly interdependent, how will Singapore approach its relations with Malaysia going forward such that our national interests are protected and the bilateral tensions do not spill over to negatively impact the lives of our people?

Question proposed.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education and Minister for Social and Family Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Mr Chairman, the Pakatan Harapan coalition took over the Malaysian government following the 14th General Elections in May last year. I would like to ask the Minister what has been Singapore’s approach towards engaging the new government and how would he characterise Singapore's interactions with the new government over the course of the last nine months?

On the dispute over the extension of Johor Bahru Port Limits, can MFA provide an update on the working group discussions and whether there has been any progress in terms of resolving the dispute?

Mr Chairman, Sir, the mutual suspension of Malaysia’s Restricted Area over Pasir Gudang and Singapore’s Instrument Landing System procedures will be effective until 31 March this year. I would be grateful for an update on the discussions on these two issues?

Relations with Indonesia

Mr Vikram Nair: Chairman, Indonesia has been a long standing and close ally of Singapore for many decades and both have been founding members of ASEAN since 1967. Next to Malaysia, Indonesia is probably the next closest in terms of culture and proximity.

Prime Minister Lee and President Jokowi have had a number of high level meetings, most recently at the Singapore-Indonesia Leader’s Retreat in 2018. Singapore is Indonesia’s largest investor, and I understand, at this retreat a bilateral investment treaty was discussed and a currency swap was also announced between the two countries.

Would MFA be able to update members of the public on the state of our bilateral relations with Indonesia including key takeaways from our engagements last year? How will we work to maintain our relationship with Indonesia for the benefit of our peoples? Indonesia's presidential election will be held in April this year. How will we continue to engage the next Administration and strengthen our bilateral and regional cooperation with Indonesia?

Dr Chia Shi-Lu (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Chairman, we observe a trend of more countries all over the world, including those in our region, becoming increasingly nationalistic and inward-looking. The recent elections and change in government in Malaysia had coincided with the emergence of prickly issues in Singapore-Malaysia relations.

As our other close neighbour, Indonesia, will have its own national elections in April, what is MFA's view on the possible impact this could have on bilateral relations with Singapore? What are some of the issues which have been unresolved and could become potential points of contention? Which are the main areas of common interests which we can pursue to strengthen our relationship?

The Chairman: Ms Joan Pereira, you can take the three cuts together.

Technical Cooperation

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, Singapore had benefited from the assistance provided by international organisations and foreign countries in our early years of development. The UNDP, for example, gave us invaluable advice on the formulation of Singapore’s economic development strategy, without which Singapore would not be the success we are today.

In 1992, the Singapore Cooperation Programme or SCP was established as the main platform for Singapore to give back to the international community through training programmes for foreign government officials from fellow developing countries. The SCP's focus on human resource development reflects our belief that a country's most valuable asset is our human capital.

Last year, the World Bank ranked Singapore as the best country for developing human capital. World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said that "policies that build human capital are some of the smartest investments that countries can make to boost long-term inclusive economic growth." How has the SCP, with its focus on developing human capital, helped Singapore to build our international network and standing? Would the Minister share examples and details of programmes and the impact of these on the relationships between Singapore and the foreign countries involved? Were there any subsequent projects of mutual collaboration and how have these been beneficial to both Singapore and the partner countries?

Consular Assistance

Singaporeans are among the most well-travelled in the world. They make more than 20 million trips overseas every year, including overland journeys to Malaysia, and venture beyond. The increasing number of trips to destinations further afield such as Iceland, South America and Africa, in addition to perennial attractions such as Japan, South Korea and Europe, shows how strong our collective wanderlust is.

Given the increasing uncertainty around the world, Singaporeans who travel often, or have family and close friends living abroad, would naturally be concerned whenever there is another natural disaster or terrorist attack in the news. Last year, there were a few major natural disasters, political riots and traffic accidents overseas where Singaporeans found themselves caught in. If caught in a major crisis or emergency abroad, our citizens located all around the globe would require more assistance and support from the Government. The complexity of cases may also increase.

At the same time, public expectations of the quality and speed of assistance service have increased. I understand that MFA has over 50 overseas missions world-wide. I would therefore like to know what measures are being taken by MFA to address the needs and expectations of our travelling citizens. What travel advice should Singaporeans take note of, especially those who travel to places where consular support is not so accessible?

Lastly, what is the role of our missions overseas in strengthening ties with Singaporeans living or working there?

Outreach Efforts

Our people’s confidence and support are crucial to the success of Singapore's foreign policy, especially in the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation in this digital age. Technology which allows information to reach us almost instantaneously can also deliver distorted and even false information.

Disinformation campaigns by countries big and small are a relatively low cost means to undermine the will and resolve of other nations that they have disagreements with. Singapore is not immune. We are one of the most internet-connected countries, and one of the most diverse nations on earth. Countries that have differing constituencies and demographic compositions are particularly susceptible to such influence, which can set up contention against one another.

MFA requires the strong support of a united citizenry to carry out its work effectively. It is thus very important for us to ensure that Singaporeans understand the fundamental principles of our foreign policy so that they are able to exercise good judgement and not take in information at face value.

I understand that MFA is expanding its foreign policy outreach to the Singapore public, especially the younger generation and students, to help them better understand Singapore’s foreign policy. Would MFA please provide an update on these outreach efforts?

Multilateralism and Small States Diplomacy

Mr Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, the global situation is uncertain. Relations between the big powers – the US and China, the US and Russia, are under stress. There is an increasing trust deficit among states, and countries are questioning the benefits of multilateralism, openness, globalisation and free trade. This has resulted in a growing wave of support for protectionist and isolationist policies in some countries, undermining support for a multilateral, rules-based international order.

We cannot change the fact that Singapore remains a "Little Red Dot" on the map. We also cannot change our destiny that however the global landscape evolves and whatever challenges we may face, we will always do so as a small state.

Small states like Singapore thrive in a rule-based and rule of law-based international order. What can we do to protect and advance our interests in the face of rising unilateralism across the world?

Singapore is nonetheless not alone in being small. Countries who identify themselves as "small states" make up the majority of the membership at the United Nations. How is Singapore working with other small states in the international community to ensure that our collective interests are secured and that small states continue to be heard?

The Chairman: Mr Charles Chong, take the two cuts together.

USA-China Relations/Trade Tensions

Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East): Mr Chairman, the relationship between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America has been described by a former US Secretary of State as the most important bilateral relationship in the world this century. There is a long and historic relationship with the first voyage of direct trade between the United States and China having been recorded has taken place in 1784, some 35 years before Raffles landed in Singapore.

In fact, today, 1 March marks the 40th year of the upgrading of diplomatic relations between the USA and the PRC when the US liaison office in Beijing was converted to an embassy. So, on the occasion of 40 years of diplomatic relationship between the USA and the PRC, I would be grateful if the Minister could provide some insights into how Singapore is affected by the relationship between these two powers, and how we can act in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans in navigating our own bilateral relationship between USA and China?

The current US administration has been in power for just over two years now. Whereas in the past the US-China relationship was sometimes described as symbiotic with bilateral trade and investment between the two countries having grown exponentially reaching US$710 billion in 2017, the last two years has seen an increase in tensions between the countries, particularly on trade but also in other areas including Taiwan and the South China Sea. These tensions over the past year has had a negative impact on the global economy and market sentiments.

The US and China have imposed tit for tat trade tirades on each other, a move which is at odds with Singapore's approach to free and open trade and one which runs contrary to our support of a rule-based multilateral trading system.

Being a small country, we need certainty in terms of how we conduct our trade relations and we value an adherence to well-established international norms, international law and binding contracts between states. So, without repeating the old chestnut involving fighting elephants and grass, I hope the Minister can provide some insights into whether US-China relations has affected the US engagement of Singapore and vice-versa. And if a trade war were to take place between US and China, could the Minister shed some light on how Singapore has prepared ourselves for the follow-up to this?

USA Engagement of Southeast Asia

Mr Chairman, the second issue I would like to speak on involves US engagement of Southeast Asia. Singapore has been a long-standing and steadfast advocate of the US engagement of and presence in Asia. We are a key security partner of the US in the region with our defence relationship being formalised in 2005 through the Strategic Framework Agreement, and subsequently enhanced in 2015 with the US-Singapore Cooperation Agreement.

Since 2002, Singapore has hosted the annual Shangri-la Dialogue where Asia Pacific countries, including the US and South East Asia Nations come together to discuss defence and security issues. Thereby contributing to the enhancement of defence diplomacy amongst participating countries. But it is not just defence and security matters where we will be at a strong relationship. Indeed US and Singapore has strong partnership in many other areas. Bilateral trade in goods and services which nearly US$75 billion in 2017 and in that same year, the US continued to be the largest foreign investor in Singapore, while Singapore was the US' second largest Asian investor.

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These days, whoever, the US appears to be focused on other regional matters such as the denuclearisation negotiations in North Korea. While on trade, a comprehensive and progressive agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership came into force at the end of last year with the conspicuous absence of the US who withdrew, from its predecessor. I would like to ask the Minister, if such a trend in the US engagement of the region over the medium and long term, would signal a shift in the US attention, away from Southeast Asia, which may have a negative impact on regional cooperation and collaboration with the US. And what does it mean for the US commitment to the region as well as its initiatives to engage Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia?

The Chairman: Ms Tin Pei Ling, you can take two cuts together.

Upholding Multilateral Trading System

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): China and the United States are in the midst of a protracted trade war. These two countries are the world's two largest economies. The Clash of the Titans has disrupted the global economy. Rounds of negotiation, deadlines, headlines and all.

Institutions like the World Trade Organization are coming under attack, and politicians in many countries are unfortunately attributing the cause of their countries’ domestic problems to free trade. There is a surge in protectionism and anti-globalisation in much of the developed world. These will spell trouble for Singapore. Should multilateralism decline or fail, we risk being at the mercy of bigger countries.

Trade is Singapore’s lifeblood. In this challenging environment, what can Singapore do to uphold the open rules-based multilateral trading system? And as multilateralism come on threat, we should look to other emerging markets for new opportunities.

Engaging Central and Eastern Europe

Ms Tin Pei Ling: Central and Eastern Europe is a rapidly-growing region, with GDP growth significantly higher than the average in the European Union (EU). Last year, of the 12 EU members forecast to grow by three percent or more, nine were Central and Eastern European countries. Romania’s GDP growth for instance hit 6.9% in 2017, though this figure fell to an estimated four percent last year, which is nonetheless significant.

As a country whose lifeblood is trade and connectivity, Singapore should always be on the lookout for opportunities to build new economic ties and strengthen existing ones. The economic potential of Central and Eastern Europe should not remain untapped.

Over the last year, we deepened our relationships with several Central and Eastern European countries. There is now a direct flight from Singapore to Warsaw and recently, we have had high-level political exchanges with Russia, Turkey and Romania. I also note that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced his intention to reopen the Czech Embassy in Singapore during his visit in January. It would appear we are gaining momentum.

Given these conditions, how is Singapore continuing to engage the emerging economies in Central and Eastern Europe?

The Chairman: Mr Loh Thia Kiang, you can take both cuts.

Strategic Focus of Foreign Policy

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Chairman, Sir, as a highly connected small city state at the heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore is extremely vulnerable to upheavals in the region. China’s peaceful economic rise has taken a different turn with military maneuvers in the South China Sea and its soft and hard power diplomacy vis-a-vis individual ASEAN states. China’s rise has led other powers to turn to Southeast Asia. America was the first to do a pivot to Southeast Asia, entering into bilateral comprehensive partnerships with ASEAN member states. India elevated its “Look East” policy to the "Act East" policy in the shadow of China's One Belt One Road investments in South Asia. Japan has also shifted its geo-strategic focus from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific.

We have forged close relationships with the US and then with rising China, and more recently India, guided by economic pragmatism and geopolitical realism. We have maintained our sovereignty and our commitment to peace and international rule of law. We should continue to do all these, but does the new complex environment mean that Singapore should consider pursuing its own strategic pivot to Southeast Asia? There are at least two reasons why we should focus on Southeast Asia.

First, ASEAN is fast becoming an economic powerhouse. Through the ASEAN Economic Community and other initiatives aimed at economic integration, GDP per capita increased by 70% from 2007 to 2017. The combined GDP of $2.77 trillion places ASEAN among the top 10 economies in the world. ASEAN has a young population, many countries are still in the earlier phases of development, so there is a lot of scope for growth. We should not miss this new growth story, right here in our neighbourhood.

Second, with the global and regional powers turning their strategic focus to Southeast Asia, we should be careful. History has shown that when the great powers turn to a region and bring their strategic interests to bear on the countries, well meaning intentions could easily turn to hostile rivalries. We cannot afford to let the powers compete over us and disrupt our unity with divide-and-rule or containment strategies.

We have painstakingly building up ASEAN after the Cold War. In the event that great power conflicts should erupt again, Singapore would fare better in an ASEAN standing strong together against foreign interferences. Realising the ASEAN motto of "One Vision, One Identity, One Community" may well be the key to Singapore's survival and success for the next 50 years.

Soft Power Diplomacy

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, some foreign policy pundits and political scientists have emphasised the importance of soft power in the exercise of influence on the international stage. The American political scientist who pioneered the concept of soft power, called the ability to combine hard and soft power in a successful strategy, "smart power". It is time we deepen our soft power diplomacy to effectively implement what I believe should be a strategic shift to focus our foreign policy on Southeast Asia.

Since 2015, communications consultancy Portland and the University of Southern California have published Soft Power 30 Index to measure the soft power of the top 30 countries on the international stage. In the last report, Singapore came in 21^st. It comes with no surprise that the report ranked Singapore top in the category of "enterprise" due to our favourable business, rule-of-law and innovation environment. The "smart nation" initiative, underpinned by excellent digital infrastructure and digital government, has also led to a high ranking in the category of "digital".

We need to change the perception of our neighbours of Singapore as an arrogant nation that likes to compare itself favourably to other developing countries. Oftentimes, the perceived condescension is due precisely to our success as a business hub and a global city adopting the most advanced technologies. Success breeds envy among neighbours, and this envy can turn toxic if our neighbours come to believe that our success is due to our taking advantage of their weaknesses.

I believe we can do three things to enhance our soft power diplomacy to correct the perceived condescension and prevent envy from turning toxic on us. First, our government-to-government engagement should deepen with the objective of facilitating economic development of our neighbouring countries. We have done so much with China in this respect. For instance, last September, we inked deals with China to promote the replication of the Tianjin Eco-city development in other Chinese cities, establish a NUS institute in Chongqing to conduct scientific research as well as technology transfer and commercialisation, and develop start-ups and partnerships in emerging industries in Suzhou. Is there a reason why we are not reaching the same level of intense engagement with our ASEAN neighbours?

Second, ASEAN is made up of countries with complex histories and cultures. We are one ourselves and it will take more than Government-to-Government engagement to develop our soft power diplomacy. We should enhance our people-to-people networking at institutional and practitioner levels for our cultural sector. We have signed arts and culture agreements with Australia and China that had led to intense professional exchanges and curatorial collaboration between museums. We should do the same with our ASEAN neighbours, especially since we share much historical and cultural kinship.

Third, we should turn our attention to digital diplomacy. We already have the digital infrastructure to do so. The next step is to develop our capabilities in making use of it to achieve our diplomatic objectives. For instance, we could have made use of the Trump-Kim Singapore Summit last year to enhance our soft power when people all over the world searching "where is Singapore". I also welcome the launching of ASEAN Smart Cities Network. Singapore should become a smart nation exercising smart power.

The Chairman: Miss Cheryl Chan. Not here. Prof Fatimah Lateef.

Relations with USA

Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Sir, Singapore and the US enjoy a long standing and deep relationship based on substantive cooperation in many areas such as economics, trade, education as well as defence and the security sectors. Our Strategic Framework Agreement with the US for example, formalises bilateral security and defence cooperation. We have both also enjoyed many years of exchanges including high level ones.

In 2017 alone, the US was Singapore's third largest trading partner in goods and also its top trading partner in service. It is also Singapore's largest source of foreign direct investments. Conversely, Singapore is the US's second largest Asian investor, after Japan. Besides our regular defence collaboration and exchanges, we are also very active in the US-led Global Defeat ISIS Cooperation Coalition and we are the only Asian country to have contributed both in terms of military assets and personnel towards this. With the new developments in the US, internally and also in terms of its global status, how will Singapore continue to strengthen and deepen our cooperation and relationship with the US.

Mr Speaker: Mr Henry Kwek, you can take both cuts please.

Relations with China

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Nee Soon): Chairman, Our bilateral relations with China are excellent, and has been described as "progressive, forward-looking, and strategic". In the joint-statement issues during PRC Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Singapore last November, both sides also reaffirmed the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. At the same time, both sides also continued with frequent high-level exchanges and enjoy good cooperation in diverse fields.

We will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park this year. We celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Project last year.

During the same visit by Premier Li, both sides signed several MOUs covering areas ranging from trade, finance, cooperation on the Belt & Road Initiative, culture and the environment, among others. Notably, we signed the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Upgrade Protocol, MOUs on Chongqing Connectivity Initiative – New International Land Sea Trade Corridor and the elevation of the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City to a state-level bilateral cooperation project. Can the Foreign Minister provide an update on the state of our relations with China? How is the progress of our Government-to-Government relations?

Developments in North Korea

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: My Second cut. Singapore hosted the first US-DPRK Summit in June 2018. The choice of Singapore as the venue of the Summit reaffirmed our reputation as an impartial, reliable and safe country. The Joint Statement signed by the US and DPRK in Singapore is an important first step forward. Both sides have since kept up dialogues and exchanges. In fact, the US and DPRK held their second Summit in Vietnam over the past two days. However, despite the stated optimism for both sides to achieve an agreement, no deal was concluded when the summit ended yesterday.

Many Singaporeans, including myself, welcome the positive developments on the Korean Peninsula and hope that the dialogue and efforts towards lasting peace and prosperity on the Peninsula will continue. Could MFA provide its assessment of the developments on the Korean Peninsula, and what role is Singapore playing to support diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful and de-nuclearised Korean Peninsular?

Engagement with PRC Leaders

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs and National Development (Ms Sun Xueling): Mr Chairman, our Leaders, including Prime Minister, Emeritus Senior Minister and Mr Lee Kuan Yew have had frequent meetings with their Chinese counterparts and enjoy good relations with them. Deputy Prime Minister Teo has also been described by former Chinese Vice Premier, Mr Zhang Gaoli as an old and good friend.

Notably, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of his reform and opening up, China post humorously conferred our Mr Lee Kuan Yew the Reform and Friendship Award in December 2018, in recognition of Singapore and Mr Lee's longstanding support for China's reform and opening over the years.

Our good relations with China did not happen by chance. It was cemented by cooperating on a wide span of areas from economic cooperation, sustainable development, human resource development to social governance. It is also heartening to see that our 4G leaders are aiming to maintain momentum of cross-partnerships by taking the lead in many engagements with China. Many of our younger Ministers are leading the engagements via the Bilateral Trade Councils established with the Chinese provinces. For instance, Minister Heng Swee Keat is the Singapore Chairman for Jiangsu Bilateral Trade Council and Minister Chan Chun Sing is the Singapore Chairman for the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.

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As our economic ties deepened, more young Singaporeans will find opportunities to study and work in China. I would like to suggest that our young be briefed on the history and current developments of Singapore-China relations before they embark on their learning journeys in China so that they are given a holistic and current perspective. Ultimately, cooperation between two countries is based on each dealing with its internal challenges and opportunities and working with each other to advance common interests. How do we intend to take this mutually beneficial cooperation between Singapore and China to the next level?

Relations with Emerging Markets

Dr Chia Shi-Lu (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Chairman, as a free and open economy, trade is critical to Singapore and we welcome new trading partners and investment opportunities. We had established trade and investment links with the major economies and have a wide network of bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements. These are all part of the soft infrastructure needed to support Singapore companies’ reach overseas to tap new opportunities and markets abroad.

There are many emerging economies with vast markets and youthful populations. Would MFA provide an update on our engagement with these economies, specifically Africa, Latin America and the Middle East?

Relations with Brunei

Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Mr Chairman, as small countries and, more importantly, as neighbours , Singapore and Brunei shared many similarities and a strategic outlook on many regional and international issues. It is this that has led to a special relationship between our two countries, one that has been built over many years and on a foundation of deep, personal and institutional ties, dating back to the close relationships shared from the 1960s by the late Seri Begawan and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Having had the honour to visit Brunei on a number of occasions, as part of official delegations, including then President Dr Tony Tan's State visit in 2013. I must attest that the genuine warmth and welcome that our Bruneians extend to us is extraordinary. It is also noteworthy that President Halimah Yacob chose Brunei as a destination of her first state visit in May 2018 and we have a steady stream of high-level mutual visits every year, including the Annual Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders Programme. In her toast speech at the State banquet hosted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for her State visit, President Halimah emphasised that future generation of leaders on both sides have the responsibility to build on the existing relations between Singapore and Brunei and to bring those ties to greater heights.

The Currency Interchangeability Agreement which has been embraced since 1967 and our strong defence cooperation also underpins the robust ties between our two nations. What then are the steps that the Singapore Government is taking to continue strengthening the special relationship? It is, perhaps, also opportune for us to congratulate our Brunei and friends on the occasion of their 35th National Day this day and may our relations continue to grow ever stronger.

Cultural Diplomacy

Mr Terence Ho Wee San (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, cultural diplomacy. In Mandarin first.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Arts and culture can become Singapore's soft power to open windows of the world. With the support from the Government, enterprises and various funds, the Singapore arts and culture brand has formed its unique style in the international arena. Arts and culture plays a very important role in diplomacy between countries. Local arts groups, such as the Theatre Practice, the Siong Leng Musical Association, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, have all been invited or sent to perform at renowned international art festivals on many occasions.

Going forward, I hope more local arts groups can be invited to perform overseas through strategic MOUs signed between our Government and other countries. I hope this kind of performances can be sustained, so that it can improve the standard of our arts and cultural groups which may one day match that of top overseas arts groups.

(In English): In today’s uncertain geopolitical landscape, where aggressive and hard strategies may do more harm than good, soft power is key for small countries like Singapore, where it is even more important to rely on our positive attraction and persuasion to increase relevance to the international community, gaining support for our agenda.

Soft power is a critical foreign policy tool and I think we can do more to leverage our soft power, especially through arts and culture. Singapore is a harmonious society, with a rich and diverse multicultural heritage. Establishing Singapore as a cultural presence in the region can add another dimension to our bilateral accounts.

On this note, I would like to highlight that our arts and culture groups have been flying our flag overseas proud and high! Sri Warisan Som Said Performing Arts, founded by Cultural medallion recipient Mdm Som Said will be performing at our National Day celebrations in Melbourne; the Theatre Practice is going to bring Liao Zhai Rocks! to the Shanghai Culture Square in this March as part of their music season; Ding Yi Music Company is going to the China ASEAN Music Festival in May too! The SCO is also heading to Europe on our international tour this year. This is in line with NAC's SG Arts Plan, where we aspire to position Singapore globally, where arts and culture icons and works are appreciated by audiences at home and abroad. Our rich cultural heritage and history should also be actively profiled.

Through arts, cultural diplomacy, Singapore can project global influence and enhance relations with our foreign partners. Singapore’s rich and diverse multicultural heritage is one of the defining traits of our country, and of our identity as Singaporeans. It can also help foster unity, pride and cohesion among our people as it reminds us of our links to society, as well as to the region and the world. Cultural diplomacy, which profiles these similarities, as well as our uniqueness, can help to broaden and deepen our bilateral relations with other countries at the people-to-people level. It makes for deeper and more direct relationships with our friends in the region. This helps to strengthen our networks with our foreign partners, and Singapore's position as a valuable collaborative partner in the region.

Mr Chairman, we are after all a small country and must allocate our resources well – yet also have an effective network with our overseas missions. They can play an instrumental role in expanding Singapore’s cultural soft power to increase our presence and space. Could the Minister please provide us with an update on what are we doing on this front?

ASEAN Unity

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Mr Chairman, Sir, over the last 50 years, ASEAN has worked hard to maintain peace and stability in the region. ASEAN has succeeded, for most of the part, in achieving this primary directive. As of today, the success of ASEAN has allowed it to not only be an enabler of peace, but also an enabler of economic interdependence.

Sir, I would like to seek an update in regard to the key initiatives pursued by ASEAN to stay united and relevant to the world in this age of globalisation.

Sir, with the advent of globalisation, and the creation and subsequent expansion of economic blocs around the world, the role of ASEAN must yet expand again. It is imperative that ASEAN fosters greater economic, social and political collaboration among its constituent nations.

Sir, I wish to speak on economic collaboration. Namely, I would like to propose the creation of more business exchanges and partnerships in the region, and the proliferation of e-commerce in the ASEAN community.

In regard to economic collaboration, ASEAN should encourage more business exchanges and partnerships in the region. We can learn from the European Commission. The Commission introduced an initiative known as European Strategic Cluster Partnerships or ESCP-4i in 2016. These partnerships aim to support the internationalisation of European SMEs from 23 different countries by placing them across 150 cluster organisations. These cluster organisations subsequently penetrate foreign markets in different fields ranging from construction to aerospace vehicles. As of last year, they have launched the second generation of the ESCP-4i. The ESCP-4i is poised to “support more than 17,000 European SMEs in accessing global value chains and taking a leading position globally”.

Sir, a similar approach by ASEAN will empower ASEAN SMEs to compete in the global market by allowing them to achieve the economies of scale they require to do so.

E-commerce presents opportunities not just for consumers, but also for businesses in ASEAN. We should utilise the platform of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network to allow for the global expansion of our firms through digitisation.

Sir, I would also like to seek an update as to the progress of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network initiative which Singapore launched in its capacity as ASEAN chair last year

ASEAN-EU Relations

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Mr Chairman, Sir, ASEAN-EU dialogue relations, connecting a combined population of more than a billion people, span more than 40 years.

The relations have led to the identification of common goals and objectives in the areas of political and security cooperation, economic cooperation and socio-cultural cooperation. Much progress have been made on these fronts.

The EU is ASEAN’s second largest trading partner. In 2017, ASEAN exported almost 135 billion euros worth of goods and services into EU. For the corresponding period, EU exported 91 billion euros to ASEAN. The EU is also the biggest provider of FDI in ASEAN. EU and ASEAN has also agreed to resuming talks for a region-to-region free trade agreement.

On the security front, ASEAN and EU agreed to work together to enhance crisis response and disaster management.

EU is also the biggest donor to the ASEAN secretariat with fund of 200 million euros in support of ASEAN regional integration in addition to 2 billion euros of bilateral support to ASEAN member states.

Without a doubt, EU is an important partner of ASEAN.

Singapore took over as country coordinator for ASEAN-EU dialogue relations in August 2018. It will hold this appointment until August 2021.

In January 2019, Singapore co-chaired the 22nd ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in January 2019 where an agreement in principle was reached to upgrade ASEAN-EU relations to a strategic partnership.

In addition, the ministers from EU and ASEAN discussed cooperation as well as challenges on regional and international issues.

May I ask what are Singapore’s goals and priorities as country coordinator to enhance collaboration and relations between ASEAN and EU?

Does Singapore anticipate any issues affecting ASEAN-EU dialogue relations arising from Brexit?

ASEAN and Rohingya Crisis

Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, the Rohingya crisis is a full-blown humanitarian crisis with regional consequences. Voluntary repatriation is not seen as a viable solution by many given that the root cause of citizenship that results in the discrimination and abuse, as well as guaranteed safety, of the returnees, has yet to be resolved. The crisis is a sobering reminder that domestic issues can quickly become transnational ones overnight. Can I please ask the Minister to provide insights in the following:

(a) Is the passive non-interference policy of ASEAN still relevant in today’s globalised context?

(b) Will ASEAN develop a refugee and asylum policy that includes guidance for action to be taken when a Member State’s internal issues cause people to flee to neighbouring states?

(c) Will the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights be further strengthened for conflicts to be escalated to?

(d) And will there be a Human Rights Court set up to interpret and enforce the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration?

The Chairman: Mr Louis Ng, you can take the two cuts together.

Resolving the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, I have shared about my experiences visiting the Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar several times. I will always remember what I saw, the painful stories I heard and the people, especially the children I met. To be honest, the image of the child with a bullet wound in her arm is still very much on mind.

My biggest fear now is that these people will be forgotten. Over a million of them now live in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The attention on this issue is diluting as people move on to more recent crises and funding gets diverted away.

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But as Minister stated, "As long as the refugees remain in the camps, and have no jobs and means of livelihood, they will have no future prospects". I also agree with Minister that "we cannot expect quick fixes". But we need to remember that in 1991, 28 years ago, 250,000 had already fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar. This is not a crisis that began last year or a few years ago.

I do understand that this is an issue that we cannot solve on our own. However, we can help. Can the Minister and MFA share what plans MFA has in 2019 to support both Myanmar and Bangladesh in finding a long-term solution? Sir, I hope that all of us in this increasingly fragmented world remember that there is no us or them. There is only us, one human family, connected in ways we sometimes forget.

Contributing to UNHCR Rohingya Fund

Sir, Minister has said that he does not foresee a sudden cessation of support from the UN and NGOs for the refugees in Bangladesh. He stated that he does not foresee that contingency occurring, at least not in the foreseeable future.

I really hope so. At the same time, I know that the UNHCR needs $307.6 million in 2019 to meet the basic needs of the Rohingya refugees and the communities hosting them. It is worrying that they have only managed to raise 2% of this amount so far, as one million refugees need this for their survival.

I appreciate that Singapore is one of the countries that make voluntary contributions to the UNHCR annually. I am glad that in 2016, as a responsible global citizen, we have increased our contributions to the UNHCR from US$50,000 to US$60,000. On top of this general donation, can we also consider donating to the UNHCR programme for Rohingya refugees specifically? Our contribution is comparable to those made by other ASEAN countries, but I sincerely hope we can contribute more to help the Rohingya refugees who so desperately need our help.

Relations with Other Southeast Asia Countries

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministers for Culture, Community and Youth and Transport (Mr Baey Yam Keng): Mr Chairman, Singapore is a small and open country and economy. It is important for us to maintain strong linkages with all our Southeast Asian neighbours, and have strong and reliable partners in the region. Singaporeans are also living and working abroad in these countries in greater numbers.

Some years ago, I was part of an official delegation led by then-Speaker Halimah Yacob to Laos. We met Singaporeans who were working and living there. I was surprised to meet one who has been living there for more than 20 years.

Southeast Asia’s growth outlook is extremely optimistic. There is a young population and a growing middle class. There are many work and career opportunities for Singaporeans to contribute towards and learn from.

Given the growth trajectory and potential of Southeast Asia, there is space to expand our trade, investment and business links with these countries.

We are more familiar with our immediate neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia, with whom we enjoy close and longstanding partnerships. Beyond them, could MFA provide an update on what Singapore is doing to enhance our political and economic engagement of fellow ASEAN countries, in particular Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, and Laos?

Relations with India

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, we saw several milestones in our relationship with India over the last two years. In 2017, bilateral trade between Singapore and India was S$25.2 billion. Singapore was India's second largest trading partner in ASEAN while India was Singapore's largest trading partner in South Asia.

In June 2018, India's Prime Minister Modi visited Singapore and was the first Indian Prime Minister to deliver the Shangri-La Dialogue keynote address in Singapore. He acknowledged that the political relations between India and Singapore are among the warmest and closest.

On the same year, in 2018, he made another visit to Singapore in November to speak at the Singapore FinTech Festival. During the event, he launched a global platform to connect FinTech firms and financial institutions, beginning with ASEAN and Indian banks, and FinTech companies. PM Modi noted that India and Singapore are also working to connect Indian and ASEAN's Small and Medium Enterprises anchored on an Indian platform and expanding it globally.

Sir, Singapore also overtook Mauritius to become India's top source of foreign direct investments in the first half of FY2018. These are encouraging developments which we should continue to pursue, particularly given that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and a bright spot for our Singapore companies to invest in. Could MFA provide an update on the Singapore-India relationships?

Engagement of Middle East

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): The Middle East appears to be far removed from Singapore, but its complex dynamics reach us across thousands of miles. The Israel-Palestine conflict remains of concern to Muslim majority countries and populations. There continues to be clashes along the Israel-Gaza border.

Singapore, being in a region dominated by Muslims, requires us to be vigilant regarding these developments. Singapore is a speck of sand in the politics of the Middle East – but we have old friends there. In 1965, Egypt was the first Arab country to recognise Singapore's independence. We also share common interests, such as the need to promote religious harmony. There are Singaporean students studying in universities in the Middle East.

Notwithstanding the security challenges in the Middle East, countries in the region present opportunities for our businesses given their vast markets and youthful populations.

There is certainly room for us to create closer ties between the South East, and the Middle East.

Increasingly, we find that we may have some role in economic diplomacy. Previous visits by our top leaders have sought to increase business links between our two regions.

Singapore’s investments in the Middle East have grown to more than $60 billion in 2012. There are many Singaporeans companies in the region such as Keppel and Sembcorp Group.

Recently, Environment and Water Resources Minister and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Mr Masagos Zulkifli has suggested that Singapore and the Middle East could work together to develop water management technologies.

Given these developments, I would like to ask the Minister to provide an update on our key engagements with the Middle East for 2019? How much have our investments grown since 2012 and have they borne fruit? How does Singapore balance our engagements with Middle Eastern countries amidst tensions in the region?

Relations with Japan

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Health and Home Affairs (Mr Amrin Amin): Singapore and Japan enjoy a longstanding and close relationship underpinned by multi-faceted cooperation including trade and connectivity, and science and technology.

Singapore and Japan also share strong people-to-people relations and cooperate on capacity building in other countries. There is much that Singapore can learn from Japan's experience in various areas. This being the case, there is room for both sides to build on our existing good bilateral relationship to share ideas and solutions that will help tackle issues of common interest. Some common challenges include ageing and declining populations.

Could MFA provide an update on Singapore-Japan relations, in particular, on new areas of cooperation with Japan.

Relations with Republic of Korea

Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Mr Chairman, Singapore and the Republic of Korea enjoy a close relationship. We have good economic cooperation and share a strong people-to-people ties. Many Singaporeans have taken an interest in various aspects of Korean culture, such as K-pop, K-drama and K-food.

Last year, we hosted several high-level visits to Singapore including an introductory visit by the Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in March followed by a State visit by President Moon Jae-in in July.

During his visit, President Moon delivered his 42nd Singapore Lecture. He said that cooperation between Singapore and the ROK would intensify to jointly prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The ROK has one of the most innovative economies globally with a heavy emphasis on smart technologies and focus on research and development. Given Singapore's interest in developing a Smart Nation, there is room for both sides to broaden existing areas of cooperation and tackle common challenges.

Could MFA provide an update on Singapore's relations with the ROK, in particular, the areas of our bilateral cooperation?

Relations with EU

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Chairman, the European Union is our largest foreign investor and one of the largest global trading partner. So, it is good news that the strong EU-Singapore relations reached another milestone recently when the European Parliament approved the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement.

It is good news that 84% of our exports will be able to enter the EU duty-free, while the tariffs for the remaining products will be removed from the third to fifth year onwards. There will also be better intellectual protection for companies and individuals.

Overall, it a pretty optimistic outlook where Singapore and the EU have further opportunities in the many years ahead to strengthen our trade and investment relations as the companies have now improved access to each other’s markets.

Mr Chairman, this year will also be a critical year for the EU because its key institutions will see leadership changes. In May, the European Parliament will have its elections, while the European Council and the European Commission will have new Presidents.

As the overall political climate in Europe is likely to shift, can the Minister provide an update on how we are engaging the EU and its member states in the face of these changes?

Key Partnership in Europe

Mr Arasu Duraisamy (Nominated Member): Sir, I note that the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) was recently approved by the European Parliament (EP). This is a positive development that will serve to enhance the already robust trade and investment relations with the EU and the individual EU member states.

Apart from the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, what are the other areas in which we can step up our relations with the key partners in Europe?

On the same note, with the Brexit deadline fast approaching, Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU are still uncertain. Singapore has signed a number of bilateral trade agreements with the EU as a block. If Brexit does indeed happen, can the MFA elucidate: one, how will it potentially affect our relations with both the UK and the EU? How do we plan to manage our relationship with the UK in the post-Brexit era? And two, will there be plans to ink separate agreements with the UK once Brexit is finalised?

The Chairman: Mr Douglas Foo. Ms Jessica Tan.

Relations with Canada

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Mr Chairman, Canada's interactions with the region including Singapore were widely perceived to be underwhelming, largely due to the geographical distance. However, in the recent years, it is evident that Canada has stepped up its engagement in the region. This is reflected in the two-way trade between Canada and the ASEAN member states, which increased to S$23.8 billion in 2017.

More recently, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau visited Singapore to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related Summits as the Guest of the ASEAN Chair, and demonstrated Canada’s interest to the region. It was also a pleasant surprise to learn of Prime Minister Trudeau’s ancestral ties to Singapore.

While Singapore and Canada may be geographically distant, I believe we do share some key commonalities. Both countries support a rules-based multilateral trading system and uphold the shared values of multiculturalism. Both countries are also amongst the first six signatories that ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018, allowing the agreement to enter into force. Prime Minister Trudeau has said that the relations between Singapore and Canada "will only deepen as the CPTPP comes into force and creates new opportunities and good, middle class jobs for people in both our countries".

Can MFA elaborate on our engagement of Canada, as well as on the emerging areas of bilateral cooperation?

Arctic Developments and Singapore

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Sir, it is inconceivable to many people that Singapore has been an observer in the Arctic Council since 2013. We are after all more than 10,000 km away. Yet, whether it is melting ice caps and rising sea levels, or the possibility of a new trade route, distant Arctic developments affect our very shores. Can MFA explain how our observership in the Arctic Council contributes to our understanding of how development in the Arctic impact Singapore? Can MFA update the House on Singapore’s response to rising sea levels, and the possible opening up of the Northern Sea Routes? How should our businesses prepare themselves for the changes in the Arctic?

We cannot watch from afar. We must do our part. We are global citizens after all and must seek to help where practicable. We are a small country with no natural resources, but have successfully harnessed technology, including sensors and automated meters, to fulfil our ambitions of becoming a smart city. Can we use Singapore’s home-grown innovations and leverage on our smart-city experiences to contribute to the "Smart Arctic" within our networks?

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The Arctic, with its unique nature and fragile ecosystems, is an important indicator of the planet's health. The Arctic has been warming at twice the rate as any other place in the world. Can our academia also contribute to the body of research to inform global intervention?

That we are 10,000 km away from the Arctic should not stop us from doing our part in the tropics. It is a connected world after all, and we can help to drive sustainable practices through regional forums such as ASEAN. Going ahead, how can we facilitate more regional understanding of the Arctic concerns? How can we continue to meaningfully engage with the Arctic Council and the Arctic Council member states?

Trade Liberalisation and Integration

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, turmoil has engulfed the global trading system. Policies favouring trade liberalisation and economic integration are in dispute.

Some of Singapore's key trading partners have voted for Governments and policies that are hostile to international trade and economic integration. Big countries are increasingly saying that to trade with them, it is "their way or the highway".

These developments are a grave threat to a small country like Singapore, where trade is our lifeblood. Trade is about three times our GDP, and has allowed us to thrive as an open economy.

Chairman, the people worldwide who are voting against trade and integration are not doing so out of hatred or xenophobia. Americans and Europeans are doing so because they feel their jobs and ways of life are threatened by globalisation. Their heartlanders want to know how trade benefits them.

Singapore is a staunch supporter of the open, rules-based multilateral trading system. But can we do more? How has Singapore addressed this growing backlash against trade and economic integration around the world? What can we do to uphold the open and rules-based multilateral trading system for the benefit of all?

Benefits of CPTPP for Singapore

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, after campaigning on a rhetoric of anti-globalisation, the US President Donald Trump had announced his decision to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

On 8 March 2018, Singapore, together with 11 other countries, signed a version of the TPP that did not include the involvement of the United States – the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed by Singapore and 11 other countries. I understand that the CPTPP has come into force on 30 December 2018.

One of most important strategic objectives of the TPP for Singapore was that it would have entrenched the US engagement in the region. Without the US participation in the CPTPP, what are the benefits for Singapore to stay in the CPTPP? Chairman, I take my second cut.

Fakes News and Citizenry Outreach Efforts

We are confronted with several geopolitical security concerns today. In the age of the digital revolution that we live in today, fake news and cybersecurity breaches are increasingly prevalent and has the potential to erode the trust between Government and society that has been carefully built up over the years.

Sometimes, these have even become a tool of foreign policy. Reports suggest that a range of state and non-state actors are engaging in disinformation operations here, and these operators who have used online news articles and social media platforms to influence Singaporeans and legitimise other states international actions.

How does MFA intend to combat fake news and educate our citizens properly about our foreign policy, in particular, our younger generation?

The Chairman: Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Mr Chairman, in July last year, Dr Henry Kissinger – probably the most senior Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary in the world – declared, "We are in a very, very grave period."

We are, in fact, witnessing the rapid unravelling of the post-World War Two global order. And this unravelling is being accompanied by profound shifts in the balance of geopolitical power and also by unprecedented leaps in technology. And these changes are not a passing transient phenomenon. No one knows how long it will take for the world to set onto a new stable trajectory again. For Singapore, our external environment therefore will be increasingly volatile, ambiguous, complex and uncertain. And we cannot afford the luxury of navel-gazing.

Let me therefore address the key foreign policy concerns, which, in fact, have been brought up by all the Members who have spoken before me.

First, Mr Vikram Nair and Mr Charles Chong asked about Sino-US tensions. I agree with both of you this is the most important bilateral relationship in the global system. And the ability, or lack thereof, of the US and China to find a new modus vivendi will shape our era.

The US actually envisioned and underwrote the post-World War Two global order, now 70 years old: "Pax Americana". In 1960, American share of global GDP was 40%. At that level, it was worth its while for the US to be a unilateral benefactor, umpire - global policeman, indeed - for the world. But its share has now declined to 24% of global GDP. Therefore, it is a completely legitimate political question for American voters to question whether it is worth their while to continue to sacrifice American "blood and treasure" for international interests. And there is an increasing bipartisan consensus that America has been taken advantage of by China, and must now play hardball.

On the other hand, China is pursuing the "China dream" and is determined that the "century of humiliation" will not be repeated. It will not allow the US or any other power to stop it from taking what it believes is its rightful place in the world.

This dynamic between the two powers is therefore shifting from one of engagement to one of strategic rivalry and competition. And consequently, new strategic architectures will arise. And countries, including we, will come under intense pressure to choose sides.

Even if current Sino-US trade tensions are resolved, the strategic contest will continue to be waged but it will include areas: defence, energy, cyber security, and even outer space. And we can expect this major power rivalry to sharpen, especially in the technological arena. The ongoing arguments about 5G technology are a case in point. Both the US and China know that the first country to master the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have a huge advantage.

Second, the digital revolution has already triggered disruptions in many other parts of the world. A rise in computing power, an explosion in big data, as well as progress in automation, robotics, new computational techniques, and smart technology have transformed societies and economies, and disrupted phenomena all over the world, including in Singapore.

The digital revolution, which is still in its early phases, has also ushered a new Gilded Age, where the fruits of economic growth are unevenly distributed. The winners in this era are the giant technology companies and the digital oligarchs who control all the data flows. The losers are entire industries and less skilled workers who are at risk of being displaced by thee smart technologies. Workers everywhere in the world are anxious. They feel squeezed, and especially in the West, there has been a stagnation in middle-class wages for several decades.

Consequently, with the erosion of the middle-class in developed countries, you will see that they are channelling their frustration towards easy scapegoats – the obvious ones: immigration; free trade - and increasingly, you will see that voters in the middle have become disenchanted with mainstream political parties.

Populist politicians, who promise to impose protectionist and nationalistic policies and appeal to primordial loyalties of race, language and religion, are on the rise everywhere. We in Singapore must not allow these disruptive forces to fracture our own society. We can, and we must master the technologies of the future so that our people – our citizens - can remain successful and united. Then, and only then, can we preserve our independence and make decisions based on our own sovereign interests.

The advances in information technology have made Singaporeans far more media-savvy, and has exposed us to the crowded marketplace of competing viewpoints and disinformation. But we must also be aware that this also raises the risk of us being influenced by foreign entities who are using these new tools, including using them in the political arena.

Third, another worrying consequence of this uneven distribution of growth - both within countries and across countries - is the inevitable rise of protectionism and nationalism across the world.

Around the globe, the right and left political wings have drifted further apart, hollowing out the political centre. The far right has responded to popular disenchantment by focusing on immigration and free trade. The liberals have tacked even further left and demanded radical redistribution. We are not so bad in this House. But you can hear faint echoes of those same political siren calls. This tumult of domestic politics and political polarisation has created a geopolitical order dominated by increasingly short-term transactional ethos and a zero-sum mind-set.

Fourth, the global, multilateral rules-based trading system, embodied by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is now under serious threat.

Ms Tin Pei Ling, Prof Walter Theseira asked about how we will try to uphold the multilateral trading system. The free, open, rules-based multilateral system actually has underpinned the success of Singapore and ASEAN and has been the formula for peace and prosperity for many decades.

Unfortunately, countries under domestic political pressure increasingly view multilateral agreements on issues such as trade, climate change, security, arms control, cybersecurity, they view multilateral agreements as shackles on sovereignty and a burden on economic growth.

Therefore, leaders in these countries are resorting to unilateral actions and prefer bilateral deals instead of multilateral deals. They repudiate multilateral approaches and the multilateral institutions that have kept the peace and facilitated prosperity.

So, over time, trade connectivity may shrink, tit-for-tat action on disputes will increase, and our ability respond to global challenges like radicalism, cybersecurity, and climate change will be impaired. Left unchecked, this will be a negative-sum game for everyone. Closer to home, we must remain vigilant about threats to regional stability and security.

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We are witnessing a surge in identity politics and exclusive extremism that raises the risk for radicalism and terrorism in our region. The return of ISIS fighters to Southeast Asia and the episodes of violence which we have see in the southern Philippines last year, are stark reminders that this is a clear and present danger. Mr Louis Ng also asked about the refugee situation at the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Both of us have been there. I can tell you this remains an issue of concern. Dr Maliki will elaborate on our response later.

In just the last few days, we have witnessed recent escalations of tension between India and Pakistan – again, another reminder that the old fault-lines remain are volatile and are susceptible to political exploitation. Therefore, the question which all of you have posed is how should we, in Singapore, respond to these challenges in this current state of the world. I would submit that our foreign policy principles remain as salient today as they were at our independence when constructed by Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr S Rajaratnam.

First, we must continue to promote a rules-based international order. A system that upholds the rights and sovereignty of all states and the rule of law is important, especially to a small city-state like us. Without it, small countries will have very little chance of survival. Under a rules-based system, bigger powers do not get a free pass to act as they will. But in the exchange for that, what they would benefit from is an orderly, stable global environment. We all know that in Singapore, our trade volume is three times our GDP. I think all Members agree with me; that we must stand up for the multilateral, rules-based global trading system. This is not a debating point; this is our lifeblood for us in Singapore.

So, we continue to play an active role at the WTO, and in constantly trying to negotiate a web of free trade agreements at both the bilateral and multilateral level. Last year, we ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Yes, in fact this deal started off with four small states – Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei and Chile. Then the Americans, Japanese, everyone else came in, and it became the TPP. And then America pulled out. Fortunately, with Japanese leadership and active support from the other 11 countires, we got the CPTPP signed, and then, to my pleasant surprise, enough of us ratified it so that it came into force on 30th December 2018. This is important. This leaves the door open. Hopefully, the United States, at some point, will find a political way to come back and to engage in trade and a strategic level with the Asia-Pacific. The CPTPP represents a market of approximately 500 million people and 22% of global trade, and will provide our companies with increased market access in the Asia-Pacific and these figures exclude the US. I am also happy to note there has been substantial progress on the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and leaders of all the RCEP participating countries have committed to conclude the RCEP later this year.

If we get this done, it would encompass 45% of the world's population and amount to 30% of global GDP. This would be big. We have also launched, and by this, I mean Singapore, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with MERCOSUR, the Pacific Alliance, and the Eurasian Economic Union. The European Parliament just two weeks ago, voted in favour of ratifying the EU Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA). This is the first bilateral trade agreement signed between the EU and an ASEAN country. It signals the EU's commitment to step up engagement with Southeast Asia, and will be, we hope, a pathfinder for future agreements between EU and other ASEAN member states, and ultimately, of course, we hope that there will be an EU ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

We should also remember that as a port at the edge of the narrow straits that ultimately connects the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, freedom of navigation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is absolutely critical for Singapore. And this is why we have always participated actively at the United Nations and in the formulation of international regimes and norms.

We were a key player in the negotiation for the Law of the Sea Treaty that is UNCLOS, and also for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, on which I spent four and a half years of my life on. We continue to contribute actively to shaping new norms to govern the global commons, including emerging areas such as cyberspace and outer space.

Second principle: we must always be a credible, consistent and reliable partner. We will continue to be honest brokers. We will deal fairly and openly with all parties. The key point is this and many of the Members have asked, how are you going to deal with people who force you, who are trying to force you to choose sides. The key point is our neutrality. And that Singapore cannot be bought, nor can we be bullied. We are not "for" or "against" anyone – we are "pro-Singapore". We are Singaporeans. We are "pro-Singaporeans." We will be nobody's stooge. We will not act on behalf of any other power. We act consistently and purely in the long-term interest of Singaporeans.

And in fact, it is this sense of strategic predictability that has enabled Singapore to build up trust and goodwill and relevance, with all the major powers. And because we are credible, Singapore has been able to play a constructive role in international affairs. And we have kept up good relations with all the major powers. The US remains a key partner for us.

We have continued our close cooperation in both defence and security spheres. We have strengthened our economic ties. Last year, both US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visited Singapore. While the current US Administration has adopted an unconventional approach towards issues such as trade, actually the fundamentals that underpin the strong bilateral relationship with us remain.

Mr Charles Chong asked about the US' engagement of the region. The US has significant investments in Southeast Asia and broad-based links with many Asian countries. In fact, the US has more invested in Southeast Asia than it has invested in India, China and Japan combined! Amazing statistics. I only discovered this when I read Vice President Mike Pence's speech two years ago and every time I meet, both the President and senior members of the administration, I remind them that the US has real "skin in the game" in Southeast Asia.

The US has rolled out several initiatives to demonstrate its continued commitment to the region, including the US$113 million in new economic initiatives, and another US$300 million in funding for regional security cooperation. Mr Henry Kwek focused on our longstanding relations with China. In fact, several Members brought that up.

Well, last year, we enjoyed a very good series of exchange of visits at the highest level. We also maintain regular exchanges through institutionalised platforms such as the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, the Singapore-China Forum on Leadership, also chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and Singapore-China Social Governance Forum, again chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

On the economic front, Singapore, remains surprisingly as China's top foreign investor. We have skin in the game. While China has been our largest trading partner since 2013, both sides concluded the upgrade of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in 2018, and this will bring our economic cooperation to new heights. My colleagues will elaborate on these accounts in greater detail later, but the point I want to make is this: even at a time of increasing tensions and polarisation, we have maintained relations with both these key powers in a way that is robust, constructive and sets us up well for the future.

Mr Low Thia Khiang delivered an excellent speech, and I really could not find anything to disagree with him. His key point was whether we should shift our strategic focus to ASEAN. Actually, it is not about shifting strategic focus, but recognising that ASEAN has always been a cornerstone of Singapore's foreign policy and for our engagement with the region and the rest of the world. And I completely agree with him that we must strengthen the open and inclusive ASEAN-centric regional architecture.

When we were the ASEAN Chair last year, we launched several initiatives to boost regional integration and to increase key partners' stake in the development of our region, including the establishment of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) and the Model ASEAN Extradition Treaty. We also achieved several key milestones for the ASEAN-China relations during the three years that we were the coordinator for that relationship from 2015 to 2018.

We upgraded the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), a big step towards our goal of achieving two-way trade in excess of US$1 trillion and investment of US$500 billion between ASEAN and China by 2020. We are well on the way to achieving these targets. Both sides agreed on a single draft negotiating text for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. We will not solve all the problems there, but it is an important confidence building step.

Mr Vikram Nair asked about the progress of these negotiations. We are working towards completing the first reading by this year. We are encouraged by the momentum, but we should also realistically recognise that there is still a lot of work to be done. Both sides have also charted the future direction of the ASEAN-China relationship with the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, which was adopted at the 21st ASEAN-China Summit in November last year. My colleagues will again further elaborate on this later on.

Our credibility has also consistently won us a seat at the G20 table over several years. I do not need to remind you that we are not among the 20 largest economies in the world. We are not there, but yet, we have been invited. And more recently we have been invited by Japan, the current G20 President, to participate in the G20 Meetings and the Osaka Summit later this year. We look forward to working closely with Japan to support Japan's G20 Presidency and its ambitious vision.

Third, Singapore must continuously create relevance for ourselves so that we can be a successful and vibrant country. And here, I want to quote Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and he said, "We must make ourselves relevant so that other countries have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation. Singapore cannot take its relevance for granted. Singapore has to continually reconstruct itself to keep its relevance to the world and to create political and economic space.” If we are not successful, if we are not united, if we are not stable, we would be completely irrelevant. Mr Lee has also reminded us that there is no irreplaceable function that a small country performs.

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Singapore was asked to host the 1st US-DPRK Summit last June. I think I have shared with Members before that we did not put up our hands to ask to host, but when we were asked, we had to say yes. But we are proud to have played a small part in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. I think this reaffirms Singapore's reputation as an impartial, reliable and neutral, safe country, and a trusted and consistent partner. I want to thank all Singaporeans again for their forbearance and for showing the world what we can do at short notice, putting on a safe event which put us on the map, which made Singapore one of the most searched google terms, and hopefully people know where we are.

We know that Vietnam just hosted the Second US-DPRK Summit in Hanoi. We know that things did not go exactly according to plan, but both sides will continue their dialogue, and we hope that their efforts in the future will ultimately lead to lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

Finally, we must always aim to be a friend to all but an enemy of none. This is especially so for our immediate neighbourhood, where peace and stability are absolutely essential. Our closest neighbours will always be Malaysia and Indonesia. This is a geographical fact and therefore, they will always be of special importance to us. Mr Vikram Nair and Assoc Prof Dr Faishal Ibrahim asked about our relations with Malaysia. Mr Nair and Dr Chia Shi-Lu also asked about our relations with Indonesia.

For Malaysia, although several bilateral issues have come to the fore in recent months, in fact, in just the last three months. We remain committed to resolving these issues in an amicable and constructive manner, and in strict accordance with bilateral agreements and international law.

On the port limits issue, officials have been meeting to discuss measures to de-escalate the situation. Both sides are aware of the urgent need to prevent accidents and untoward incidents, like the recent collision between the Greece-registered bulk carrier Pireas and the Malaysian Government vessel Polaris, which was illegally anchored in Singapore Territorial Waters. The working group of senior officials is due to submit its recommendations to the two Foreign Ministers in early March, which is now.

The Transport Ministers and the senior officials from both sides have been meeting to discuss the arrangements for Seletar Airport and the airspace over Southern Johor, including the instrumented approaches into Seletar Airport, and Malaysia’s Restricted Area over Pasir Gudang. Again, we look forward to finding a solution that is mutually agreeable. Fortunately or unfortunately, in my capacity as Acting Transport Minister, this is also my problem at this point in time.

For Indonesia, our bilateral cooperation remains deep, multi-faceted and reinforced by frequent high-level exchanges.

Our two economies are inextricably linked, with economic cooperation robust and expanding. Singapore remains Indonesia’s top foreign investor in 2018, US$9.2 billion worth of realised investments. We have committed investments in Indonesia such as the Kendal Industrial Park in Semarang and the Nongsa Digital Park in Batam. The US$10 billion bilateral financial arrangement, which was announced at the 2018 Leaders’ Retreat, and signed on 5 November 2018, reflects the confidence in the economic fundamentals of both countries.

Singapore and Indonesia also share common defence and security challenges. Our agencies collaborate closely through frequent defence exercises and in intelligence sharing for counter-terrorism purposes

Mr Alex Yam asked about our relations with Brunei. We have a longstanding special relationship with Brunei and will continue to strengthen these bilateral ties. Our strong defence cooperation – many of us have trained in the jungles of Brunei – and Currency Interchangeability Agreement remain important pillars of our bilateral relationship.

We will leverage on other platforms to build Singapore's networks and soft power.

Ms Joan Pereira asked about the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). The SCP is a key example of our commitment to share our experience with other developing countries through human resource development. Since 1992, over 124,000 foreign officials have participated in our programmes and they represent an invaluable reservoir of goodwill for Singapore. My colleagues will provide further details.

Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Terence Ho asked about Singapore’s soft power. The intangibles of foreign policy – the attitudes, the perspectives, the mind-sets – are very important. And in fact, they are the ultimate currency of our foreign policy because if people like us, trust us, depend on us, I think we will continue to do well.

To cite an example, many of our overseas missions use cultural diplomacy to showcase the diverse heritage of Singapore, a heritage which embeds us firmly in the ancient and rich cultures of Asia. When we are able to showcase our arts practitioners' stories and innovative techniques, it allows friends in other countries to understand Singapore a little better, and to get to know our people at a more intimate level.

More broadly, by being successful, by being honest, by building a society which is open, pragmatic, hardworking and rooted in our multicultural heritage, we build warm people-to-people relations and a store of global goodwill to Singapore.

So here again I want to agree with Mr Low. I think you have made a very important point about humility in success. And we will pursue his suggestions on deeper engagement with ASEAN through economic projects, people-to-people ties and digital diplomacy.

Looking forward, we must continue to strengthen our bilateral and multilateral partnerships with our neighbours and the major powers. It is important to manage our key accounts adroitly in order to preserve our strategic space and options. We will continue to maintain constructive and open engagement with Malaysia to manage and to resolve the differences and to advance the bilateral cooperation for mutual benefit.

Indonesia is on track to hold legislative and presidential elections on 17th April 2019. I want to emphasise that Singapore does not take sides in the elections of any country, including our neighbours. We are committed to working with the government of the day.

We hope for a smooth and peaceful election that will contribute towards Indonesia’s long-term stability and success. We look forward to continuing the strong and constructive partnership with Indonesia. We also look forward to working with Brunei to explore new areas of cooperation, such as aquaculture and agriculture. We will continue to engage the younger generation of Bruneian leaders through the annual Young Leaders’ Programme, which will be held in Brunei in 2019.

We will also continue to deepen and broaden our links and cooperation with other neighbours in the region.

The Sino-US relations will continue to be the defining major power relationship in the 21st century. It is in everyone's interest to keep the US and China engaged in the region. Singapore has a big stake in good Sino-US relations; we will continue in a humble and constructive way to position ourselves as a helpful and reliable partner to both, and where relevant to be a valuable interlocutor.

On the bilateral front, we will continue to enhance economic, defence, security including cybersecurity cooperation with the US.

We are also working closely together with China, including on its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

We should also continue to engage other key partners such as Australia, Japan, India and New Zealand, to keep them engaged in our region, and to establish Singapore as a partner of choice.

Australia remains a very close friend of Singapore. We continue to build on the positive momentum created by the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which we signed in 2015. We are exploring new areas of cooperation such as the digital economy and cybersecurity.

Japan continues to be a close and like-minded partner. We are expanding cooperation in areas, such as the Smart Cities, infrastructure cooperation, as well as the provision of technical assistance to third countries through the renewed Japan-Singapore Partnership Programme for the 21st Century.

Our relationship with India remains robust and forward-looking. India has made great strides in digitalisation, and we are enhancing our FinTech collaborations, including linking up our electronic payment systems, banks, and businesses. With India's large population, which by the way will shortly overtake China to be the largest population in the world, Singapore's position as a regional hub gives us tremendous potential for us to work together.

We continue to deepen relations with New Zealand, another like-minded and longstanding partner. In fact, we have just concluded negotiations to upgrade our bilateral FTA last November, and we are working to upgrade our relations to an Enhanced Partnership later this year.

We reaffirm our commitment to free trade and an open, rules-based international order and multilateral trading system.

As we develop our national capacity to innovate, we have also stepped up efforts to profile Singapore’s thought leadership in today’s innovation-led economy, and our contributions, through technical assistance under the Singapore Cooperation Programme. This has helped expand our mindshare and, as Mr Low reminded us, to increase our soft power in various parts of the world.

But as I have said repeatedly in this House, diplomacy begins at home. Division at home, within the shores of Singapore, will paralyse our foreign policy. We need to continue to strengthen the resilience and unity of our citizens, and to build a deeper appreciation of the fundamental principles of Singapore's foreign policy and our vulnerabilities as a small country.

We must continue to invest a fair share of our resources in diplomacy so that we can stand our ground, protect our sovereignty and keep Singapore safe. But we will never ask for more than we need. In fact, I would like to remind the House, if you look at all the Ministries' Budgets, MFA is the lowest and MFA has not asked for an increase this year. What we are asking for is more domestic support. And I am very grateful for the hard work and ingenuity of our diplomats; and the sacrifices of their families.

All that we do in Singapore, including the larger Budget debate, must take into account the profound changes taking place in the region and world around us.

We have to accept the geo-political realities and vulnerabilities of being a small island city state. We take the world as it is. But this does not mean that we are powerless. We must stay nimble, we must continue to seize opportunities whilst maintaining our balance in the midst of a rapidly evolving world, and we can do this with your support. We will secure Singapore's continued independence, well-being and prosperity. Thank you. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Maliki.

The Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman): Thank you, Mr Chairman. Minister Vivian outlined key foreign policy challenges for Singapore. I will now highlight opportunities for Singapore. First, strengthening existing partnerships; second, enlarging our circle of friends; and third, expanding and intensifying our outreach.

First, on strengthening existing partnerships.

I will begin with the US, a major defence and economic partner for Singapore. For decades, the US has been a stabilising force in the Asia-Pacific. Its continued commitment and sustained military presence in the region is even more vital today, given the evolving regional developments. We have developed broad and substantive defence ties with the US, underpinned by regular high-level visits, joint military training, defence technology cooperation, and professional exchanges.

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Since 2014, Singapore has contributed military assets and personnel towards the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS led by the US. During US Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Singapore in November, we signed a Letter of Intent to jointly develop a Singapore-US Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Programme. Last month, I attended the Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Washington DC to share Singapore's ongoing efforts to build regional counter-terrorism capabilities. We are working towards the renewal in 2020 of our 1990 landmark agreement granting the US access to military facilities in Singapore.

Notwithstanding our different positions on trade, Singapore and the US continue to enjoy robust economic relations. It remains our largest foreign direct investor. Its investment has increased by some 21% from S$280 billion in 2016, to S$339 billion in 2017. Nearly 4,500 US companies have set up shop here, creating jobs in finance, insurance, manufacturing, and trade. We signed new cooperation agreements on energy, standards, advanced manufacturing, and technology partnerships, as well as automatic exchange of financial account information.

Incoming visits by President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence, and several other Cabinet Secretaries to Singapore, as well as Minister Vivian and other Singapore Ministers to the US last year, allowed both sides to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. We will sustain this steady rhythm of high-level engagements in 2019.

Closer to home, ASEAN continues to be a key pillar of Singapore's foreign policy, as articulated by Minister Vivian earlier. When ASEAN was formed in 1967, Southeast Asia was a troubled and unstable region, rife with hostility and confrontation. It was a leap of faith for ASEAN's five founding Members to put aside their differences to bring the region together. The expansion of ASEAN from five to 10 Members, brought new opportunities and challenges, including creating consensus amongst 10 states with diverse political systems, histories and levels of economic development. ASEAN has come a long way since, but maintaining ASEAN's unity, centrality and relevance remains as important as ever.

Mr Vikram Nair and Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how ASEAN can strengthen its centrality and speak in one voice on contentious issues. Under the theme of "Resilient and Innovative" during our 2018 ASEAN Chairmanship, we focused on enhancing ASEAN Centrality, unity and relevance. For example, we launched initiatives to enhance aviation safety for military aircraft, combat terrorism and extremism, as well as strengthen ASEAN's cyber strategy development and capabilities. We deepened economic integration by focusing on growth areas in e-commerce and digital technology. These initiatives boost regional integration and increase key partners' stake in the development of our region.

Amidst major power rivalry, ASEAN Member States will increasingly be subject to competing external pressures that may pull us in different directions. Balancing national interests against regional interests is a perennial challenge, but one we can overcome by increasing ASEAN's value proposition to each member and enlarging our sphere of common interests.

Dr Teo also asked about the status of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, or ASCN. The ASCN's 26 pilot cities came together last year to set out ASEAN's definition of a smart city and develop city-specific action plans towards becoming smart cities by 2025. Since 2018, ASCN has secured over 30 partnerships with interested private and public entities. For Singapore businesses, ASCN presents regional business opportunities in many areas, including urban development, human capital development, technology incubation and financial services. Singapore will work with Thailand, this year's ASEAN Chair, to shepherd the ASCN initiative onto its next phase of development.

Singapore has taken over the country coordinatorship of ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations from 2018 to 2021. Mr Muralli Pillai asked about our goals and priorities, and if Brexit will affect ASEAN-EU dialogue relations. While there remains much uncertainty over Brexit, Singapore aims to facilitate concrete and beneficial outcomes for ASEAN-EU dialogue relations. This includes ongoing negotiations on the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and efforts to resume negotiations on an ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement. These initiatives will deepen linkages between two dynamic integrated blocs with a combined market of more than one billion people, and realise significant economic opportunities for our businesses and our peoples. At a recent meeting co-chaired by Minister Vivian, ASEAN and EU Foreign Ministers agreed in-principle to upgrade ASEAN-EU relations to a strategic level and reaffirmed our shared commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based world order.

One complex and evolving issue that ASEAN has to deal with is the situation in the Rakhine State in Myanmar. Understandably, ASEAN Member States are concerned about the situation. The ASEAN Leaders and Foreign Ministers have discussed this issue extensively. However, there are no quick fixes. This is a longstanding and complex issue which needs a political solution.

Ms Anthea Ong asked about ASEAN's policy regarding the situation in the Rakhine State. At Myanmar's invitation at the 33rd ASEAN Summit in November 2018, the Leaders agreed to despatch a needs assessment team to the Rakhine State to identify ways to support Myanmar's efforts in the repatriation process. That said, it is ultimately the responsibility of the Myanmar government and its stakeholders to find a viable and durable long-term solution.

The discussions at the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, or AICHR, run parallel to and are consistent with the conversations between ASEAN Leaders and Foreign Ministers. Currently, there are no discussions amongst ASEAN on pursuing measures, such as a Human Rights Court, or a regional refugee and asylum policy. We must keep in mind that ASEAN Member States have different approaches in dealing with humanitarian and human rights issues due to their own history and domestic socio-political dynamics. It will be difficult to apply a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

Mr Louis Ng asked whether Singapore could consider donating to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, fund for refugees from the Rakhine State, in addition to our general contribution. As a small country with limited resources, we are not a major donor to the UNHCR. However, as Mr Ng pointed out, we increased our annual contributions in 2016. Our contribution is comparable to that of the other ASEAN countries. What is important is to stay focused on creating a conducive environment for refugees to return to the Rakhine State. That can only be achieved through internal dialogue and consensus.

ASEAN also has to deal with the threat of terrorism. Our region faces the heightened threat of returning fighters and radicalised individuals who may be persuaded to carry out attacks where they live. The recent bomb attacks at a cathedral in southern Philippines which claimed at least 20 lives, reminds us of existing threats to regional stability as well as racial and religious harmony. To combat these threats, platforms for information sharing such as the "Our Eyes" Initiative are vital.

We will continue to work with like-minded countries to promote religious moderation and inter-faith harmony, while contributing to the counter-terrorism capacity-building efforts of our Middle East partners where possible. For instance, when Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, visited Singapore last May at Prime Minister's invitation, he shared insights on Islamic principles and practices in a multi-religious society, and exhorted our Muslim community to stay harmonious and to harness religion as a force for good. Such exchanges are critical, given the potential for extremism and conflicts in the Middle East to spill over in our region.

Minister Vivian spoke about our relations with our closest neighbours. Mr Chairman, let me take this opportunity to underscore a few points in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Several bilateral issues have surfaced with Malaysia in recent months, namely the port limits and airspace issues.

On the port limits issue, as members of the House are aware, Malaysia unilaterally extended the Johor Bahru Port Limits on 25 October 2018. Since late November 2018, Malaysian Government vessels have intruded repeatedly into Singapore Territorial Waters. We have protested the purported extension of the Johor Bahru Port Limits and these intrusions. These intrusions do not help Malaysia’s legal case.

Instead, they have raised tensions and endangered navigational safety in the area, as shown by the recent collision between Greece-registered bulk carrier Pireas and Malaysian Government vessel Polaris, which was illegally anchored in Singapore Territorial Waters.

The officials have been meeting to discuss measures to de-escalate the situation. Both sides are aware of the urgent need to prevent more accidents and untoward incidents. The Working Group is due to submit its recommendations to the two Foreign Ministers in early March.

On airspace, Singapore had planned to upgrade Seletar Airport to use Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures. The ILS would have allowed flights arriving at Seletar Airport to land safely even in conditions where visibility is poor. However, Malaysia declared a permanent Restricted Area (RA) on 25 December 2018 which has affected flights operating to and from Seletar Airport.

Following the meetings between the Foreign Ministers on 8 January 2019 and the Transport Ministers on 23 January 2019, both sides have mutually suspended the ILS procedures and permanent Restricted Area (RA) until 31 March this year. Since then, the Transport Ministers and senior officials from both sides have been meeting regularly to discuss these issues, and we look forward to finding a solution that is mutually agreeable.

As close neighbours, issues will naturally surface from time to time that we have to deal with together. What is important is how we deal with them – discussing in good faith, keeping in compliance with international law, and honouring existing agreements. Despite these current difficulties, Singapore still hopes to work with Malaysia for better relations, and for closer long-term cooperation that will benefit the citizens of both sides.

Singapore-Indonesia relations are deep and multi-faceted. Frequent high-level meetings and exchanges underpin our strong ties with Indonesia. My colleagues and I are familiar with Indonesian leaders from the various regions and meet them regularly when they visit Singapore and when we travel there.

Our two economies are closely linked. Singapore remained as Indonesia’s top foreign investor. Examples of recent key investments are the Kendal Industrial Park and Nongsa Digital Park. The plan for the Bilateral Financial Arrangement worth US$10 billion was announced at the 2018 Leaders’ Retreat between Prime Minister and President Jokowi, and this clearly demonstrates our mutual trust and confidence in each other’s economies.

In addition, we cooperate closely on the defence, security and counter-terrorism fronts to tackle common challenges. Indonesia will hold its legislative elections and presidential elections in April this year. We wish them a smooth and peaceful elections. We also look forward to continuing our strong, long-standing and cooperative partnership with Indonesia.

(In English): Mr Baey Yam Keng asked about Singapore’s engagement of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. We maintain strong ties with these neighbours through regular high-level exchanges. This year, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations with the Philippines. Trade with all six countries continues to grow. Our businesses are keen to collaborate in emerging fields such as FinTech, digital economy, smart cities and renewable energy.

Thailand is a longstanding defence partner and continues to support SAF training. We have extensive technical cooperation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. In 2018, we upgraded our technical cooperation centres in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to the Singapore Cooperation Centres. These Centres enlarge Singapore’s mindshare by offering an integrated development assistance platform.

This brings me to my second point: that Singapore must strive constantly to enlarge our circle of friends.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked for an update on our relationship with India. It is robust, forward-looking, and we have made progress across all pillars of our Strategic Partnership. Defence ties have strengthened. Our navies signed an agreement on logistics cooperation, and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the annual Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise last year.

Singapore is India’s 10th largest trading partner and largest foreign investor. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Official Visit to Singapore in June 2018, we concluded the Second Review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, known as CECA. Since CECA came into force in 2005, bilateral trade flows have doubled from S$11.18 billion in 2004 to S$25.2 billion in 2017. The updates to CECA will support greater economic cooperation and provide opportunities for our businesses and people. We have also grown our state-level engagement of cities such as Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

With both countries making significant strides towards digitalisation, we have established a Joint Working Group to explore further cooperation in FinTech and innovation. We launched an initial link for our payment systems between Singapore’s NETS and India’s RuPay payment systems that will enable workers, tourists, and businesses to make cross-border transactions more securely and conveniently.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked about our engagement of emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Mr Seah Kian Peng also asked about our key engagements in the Middle East in 2019 and how our efforts have borne fruit.

Our engagement of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia is premised on expanding our economic space, looking after Muslims on pilgrimage, and sharing our development experience.

In the Middle East, our trade grew by 21.5% from S$50.6 billion to S$61.5 billion in 2018. We enjoy regular exchanges at the highest political level. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean visited Jordan, Oman, and Israel in 2018. In January this year, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman met key Saudi leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has just visited Singapore yesterday where both sides issued a joint declaration on the Singapore-UAE Comprehensive Partnership.

High-level engagements this year reflect the potential for our ties to grow, especially with states trying to reduce oil dependency and diversify their economies. We will leverage the Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and work with our agencies to support our companies through legislative frameworks composed of the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements, or DTAs, and Bilateral Investment Treaties, or BITs.

Every year, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli leads a delegation to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj Ministerial Meeting to seek an increase in our official Haj quota. We obtained an increase in Haj places in 2018. We recognise the limit to the increase that Saudi Arabia can accord each country in light of logistical realities, but will continue to make our case for more Haj places for our pilgrims.

Mr Seah Kian Peng also asked about how Singapore balances its engagements with countries in the Middle East amidst tensions in the region. Several disputes and conflicts persist in the Middle East and North Africa. Singapore’s principle is to keep friendly ties with all countries, regardless of any disputes between them. The diplomatic rift between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, is ongoing. We hope that all parties will work together to find a solution.

The complex, multi-faceted Israeli-Palestinian conflict has particular domestic and regional salience. Tensions continue to simmer at the Israel-Gaza border, and have been exacerbated over the status of Jerusalem. Singapore maintains a principled and consistent position on this issue. We support a negotiated two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security. We hope that they can resume direct negotiations and make progress towards a just and durable solution.

Meanwhile, we will continue to work with the Palestinian National Authority, or PNA, in practical ways. For example, we shared our development experience with PNA officials, and worked with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to conduct an inaugural ICT programme in Ramallah last month.

Israel is one of our oldest partners. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations with Israel. We have developed a broad-based relationship with shared interests in many sectors such as research and development, and education.

We are also gradually stepping up our engagement of Central Asia. The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy has an on-going partnership with Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan to offer courses on public administration. Singapore companies are also exploring opportunities in education, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. I plan to visit Uzbekistan soon to explore other opportunities for cooperation.

We are looking for opportunities to step up engagement of key countries in Africa. The continent is expected to grow 4% over the next two years. More than 60 Singapore companies, including SMEs across multiple industries, are operating in sectors as wide-ranging as manufacturing, digital economy, transport and logistics, and agribusiness. Today, Singapore is one of Southeast Asia’s largest investors in Africa.

Further from home, Singapore’s interaction with Latin America has also grown. Our companies are exploring commercial opportunities in major economies in sectors as diverse as ports, airports, oil and gas, logistics, master planning, and education. MFA has worked with MTI to support these companies' entry into the Latin American markets. We are pursuing two Free Trade Agreements with the region. One is with the MERCOSUR trade bloc which comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and is the world’s fifth largest economy. The other is with the Pacific Alliance, comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Once concluded, these agreements will help to facilitate trade and investment flows.

Last year, we had a series of high-level exchanges with Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. This culminated in a visit by Prime Minister to Buenos Aires in November 2018 for the G20 Leaders’ Summit under Argentina’s Presidency. We will sustain such productive high-level meetings this year, including through Prime Minister's visit to Chile for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2019.

Third, we should continue expanding and intensifying our outreach. Minister Vivian mentioned that Singapore Cooperation Programme, or SCP. The SCP was established in 1992 for Singapore to “give back” to the international community the assistance that we received in our early years of nation-building. It is a key conduit for us to provide human resource capacity-building to fellow developing countries, and has helped to build goodwill for Singapore across the globe.

The SCP showcases our expertise and evolving capabilities, and allows our officials and companies to interact with foreign officials. In turn, this creates opportunities for our companies in areas such as urban consultancy services and digital technology.

This year, we have put together a special Climate Action Package of courses to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. As Small Island Developing States continue to be most vulnerable, we will step up our delivery of customised programmes to help them achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We will also contribute to smart city development in our region through our ASCN.

To conclude, Mr Chairman, to meet the foreign policy challenges of the day, we need to be pragmatic and resilient. But to seize the opportunities before us, we need to be optimistic, open-minded and courageous. Looking ahead, we should strengthen ties with our closest partners, enlarge our circle of friends and expand and intensify our outreach. Mr Chairman, I turn the floor over to my colleague Minister of State Sam Tan.

The Chairman: Before that, I would like to propose to take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.20 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 2.58 pm until 3.20 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.20 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head N (cont) –

The Chairman: Minister of State Sam Tan.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong): Thank you, Mr Chairman. Sir, Minister Vivian outlined an increasingly complex global environment in which Singapore must operate. Senior Minister of State Maliki spoke on the state of Singapore-US bilateral relations. And I will elaborate on our relationship with China. Mr Chairman, please allow me to do so in Mandarin.

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(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, next year, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and China. This is a very important landmark. In reality, our links with China are longstanding, with frequent exchanges long before the establishment of our diplomatic relations. As we all know, our founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew visited China in 1976 and China's leader, Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore in 1978. These mutual visits have laid a solid foundation for our bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Just now, Ms Sun Xueling highlighted how Singapore's younger 4G leaders continue to build strong relations with the Chinese leaders, and she also asked how we could take bilateral cooperation to the next level.

Mr Chairman, indeed, it is crucial that bilateral relations continue to grow seamlessly from one generation to the next. Last year saw a flurry of high-level visits on both sides. Prime Minister Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Teo, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman and many younger 4G Cabinet Ministers visited China. We hosted several Chinese leaders in Singapore, including Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Premier Han Zheng and Vice President Wang Qishan. I visited Wuhan and Changsha in July 2018, where local leaders and I discussed cooperation in a wide range of areas, including modern services such as finance and healthcare.

Minister Vivian has highlighted three DPM-level bilateral platforms, namely the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), the Singapore-China Forum on Leadership and Singapore-China Social Governance Forum. In addition, we have three Government-to-Government projects and seven business and economic councils with Chinese provinces and municipalities. These include Guangdong, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Sichuan Tianjin and Zhejiang. We have trade and development councils with these municipalities. These institutionalised frameworks and concrete projects allow office-holders, including our 4G leaders and officials from both sides to exchange views and work together to address common challenges in our changing social, economic and political landscape.

The PRC government conferred a Reform and Friendship Award to Mr Lee Kuan Yew last year, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, affirming the robust, long-standing friendship between our two countries. Our first Government-to-Government project, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park or SIP, was first initiated by Mr Lee and will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. The development of the Suzhou Industrial Park has since inspired many similar initiatives within and outside China.

Economic and trade cooperation has all along been a key pillar of the Singapore-China relationship. Since 2013, Singapore has been China's top foreign direct investor, while China has been our largest trading partner. Singapore was the first Asian country to have a comprehensive bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. This year marks the tenth year since its implementation. Last year, both sides concluded the upgrade of the China-Singapore FTA, advancing our economic and trade cooperation to the next level.

Our three Government-to-Government projects with China, namely the SIP, which I mentioned earlier, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (SSTEC), and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI), are doing well. The SSTEC celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018 and the CCI-New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor has connected the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, thereby enhancing connectivity between western China and Southeast Asia and beyond.

Mr Chairman, as we take stock of what our two countries have accomplished together, we must continue to develop and progress. We cannot stick to our old ways of cooperation. We need to continue to innovate and develop new areas of cooperation for our mutual benefit.

In this regard, we are working closely together in areas relating to the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) that are good for Singapore, for China, and for the region. These projects aim to improve infrastructural connectivity, financial connectivity, third-country cooperation and professional services, including legal and judicial cooperation.

Last year, we elevated the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City to a state-level bilateral cooperation project. We are now preparing to establish a comprehensive mechanism for cooperation between Singapore and Shanghai, in addition to the existing seven business and economic councils, thereby opening up a new chapter in our close cooperation.

(In English): Mr Chairman, now allow me to continue in English. In addition to engaging the major powers, we must continue to strengthen relations with other key partners. Mr Amrin Amin sought an update on the Singapore-Japan relations, and new areas of cooperation with Japan.

Our ties with Japan are close and multi-faceted with frequent high-level exchanges. Deputy Prime Minister Teo, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman and several Ministers visited Japan in 2018. In January 2018, I led a delegation to co-chair the 19th Singapore-Kagoshima Conference which is the longest-running forum of its kind that Singapore has with a Japanese prefecture. In line with Japan's G20 priorities, we are exploring possible collaborations with Japan to support infrastructure projects in third countries.

Mr Ong Teng Koon requested for an update on Singapore-ROK relations. Our relationship with the ROK are warm. ROK President Moon Jae-in made a State Visit to Singapore in July last year and several MOUs were exchanged to enhance our cooperation in trade, environment as well as Small and Medium Enterprises and start-ups. Both countries also discussed new areas of cooperation such as smart grid technologies, e-commerce, FinTech and cybersecurity.

To Mr Henry Kwek's questions on the Korean Peninsula, as Minister Vivian mentioned earlier, the US and the DPRK will continue their dialogue following the second US-DPRK Summit. Continued dialogue will ensure that the tension on the Korean Peninsula remains within control. Singapore will continue to work with the international community to support efforts towards lasting peace and stability on a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. In the meantime, we remain committed to implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions fully.

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In the south, Australia is a like-minded partner, with whom we share deep historical ties and similar strategic perspectives. Our two countries share a common interest in promoting trade liberalisation. Bilaterally, our economic ties are strong. Singapore is Australia's largest trade and investment partner in Southeast Asia. We continue to build on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in 2015. We are exploring ways to further deepen the bilateral relationship at the upcoming Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee meeting. This is a very unique 3+3 meeting involving the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Ministers. We look forward to welcoming Australia’s Prime Minister to visit Singapore for the next annual Leaders’ Summit.

Ms Cheng Li Hui asked how Singapore is engaging the EU. Singapore and the EU share good ties and we marked a major milestone in the relationship with the signing of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement or EUSFTA, the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement or EUSIPA and the EU-Singapore Partnership and Cooperation Agreement or EUSPCA in October last year, and their approval by the European Parliament just two weeks ago.

Mr Arasu asked what we can do beyond the EUSFTA to further relations with key EU members. Complementing the EUSFTA, the EUSIPA will enhance investment and business opportunities, while the EUSPCA will promote cooperation in areas such as education and science and technology. We will continue to work towards the full ratification and entry into force of these agreements.

As the EU undergoes a leadership transition in 2019 this year, we are committed to working with the new leaders to deepen and broaden our ties. We will also strengthen our bilateral relationships with the individual member states in the EU.

Mr Arasu also asked how Singapore will manage our relationship with the UK in the post-Brexit era. We have strong and longstanding bilateral ties with the UK that exist independently of our engagement through the EU. There are many bilateral agreements which will remain in force. We also recently launched the Singapore-United Kingdom Partnership for the Future to develop existing and new initiatives. As for the agreements with the EU such as the EUSFTA, we are open to having them apply to the UK after Brexit.

Ms Tin Pei Ling asked about Singapore's engagement of Central and Eastern Europe. Singapore enjoys good and growing relations with the emerging markets in Europe, notably, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic. We have fruitful political exchanges and also ongoing collaborations in various sectors, such as science and technology. We will continue working with other European partners, such as the Eurasian Economic Union, with whom we are currently negotiating an FTA.

Ms Jessica Tan requested an update on our engagement of Canada. I am glad to report that good progress has been made over the past year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Singapore to attend the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits as a Guest of the Chair. A highlight was the signing of agreements on cybersecurity, infrastructure and also smart cities cooperation. Canada provincial governments are strengthening their economic presence in Singapore with the set-up of more provincial offices to promote trade and investments.

Mr Desmond Choo asked about Singapore's engagement with the Arctic Council (AC). Since becoming an AC observer in 2013, we have had the opportunity to engage Arctic experts and policymakers who can provide us with deeper insights into the possible consequences that a warming Arctic and the opening of new sea routes could have for Singapore. Where we have relevant expertise and experience, we have contributed to the work of the AC in its workshops and task forces, in areas of mutual concern, such as sustainable development and environmental conservation. In particular, our institutes of higher learning have initiated joint collaborations with researchers from the Arctic and Southeast Asia to share best practices and exchange ideas on common challenges, such as energy access in remote communities. We have also worked with several diplomatic missions in Singapore from Arctic member states to organise events to raise awareness of Arctic issues in Singapore, especially amongst the young people.

When I attended the 13th Arctic Frontiers Conference in Norway in January this year, I spoke about Singapore’s Smart Nation strategies at a discussion on "Smart and Resilient Arctic Societies". I am happy also to report that Singapore's contributions in this field have been well-recognised and received. Going forward, we hope to involve and familiarise more companies with the growing opportunities in the high north.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, Singapore's survival depends on our effective cultivation of a wide network of partners and friends. Our external engagement, on both bilateral and multilateral levels, has grown dramatically over the last few years. This monumental task requires a whole-of-Government effort.

MFA will continue to fly the Singapore flag high and strengthen relations with countries and regions around the world to secure Singapore's interests and also for Singapore's continued development. Thank you.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Tan Wu Meng): Mr Chairman, Minister Vivian spoke about the contours of today’s uncertain external environment. A key feature of this is the competition between major powers for pre-eminence. Tit-for-tat trade tariffs have affected the global economy, including Singapore's. I will share on what Singapore has done to actively uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system, by pursuing the strategies of openness, integration and diversification.

Trade, at slightly more than three times our GDP, is Singapore’s lifeline. We have consistently articulated our support for free and open trade. The post-World War Two multilateral trading system anchored by rules and norms has served the world, including Singapore, well. However, just like any neighbourhood, we can expect friction when multiple parties, big and small, coexist in the same environment. Yet it is precisely this rules-based international system that allows such disagreements to be resolved through constructive cooperation and agreed rules in a non-discriminatory manner.

Singapore firmly supports a rules-based and inclusive trading system, as embodied in the WTO. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked if we can do more. Together with like-minded Members, we are working on WTO reforms to ensure that the WTO remains well-functioning and effective for all. This includes updating the WTO's rulebook so that it remains relevant to businesses and governments. For instance, there is scope to develop new trade rules to address e-commerce and the broader digital economy. Singapore’s commitment to the multilateral trading system is also evident through our various efforts to advance trade liberalisation and economic integration.

Minister Vivian spoke on two key initiatives – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which we are working to conclude this year, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which entered into force on 30 December 2018.

Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about the CPTPP's benefits for Singapore. Apart from the increased market access for our companies as mentioned by Minister Vivian, the CPTPP is also a forward-looking agreement.

First, it updates rules in traditional areas, including services, investment and non-tariff measures.

Second, it establishes a common set of enforceable rules to address modern trade issues in areas such as e-commerce and intellectual property.

Apart from our immediate region, we have also looked across the Pacific to MERCOSUR (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and the Pacific Alliance (comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) to diversify our economic and free trade networks.

As Senior Minister of State Maliki highlighted earlier, we are negotiating Free Trade Agreements with MERCOSUR and the Pacific Alliance to create opportunities for Singaporeans and Singapore companies to expand into new areas, and enhance trade with emerging markets.

Singapore also remains engaged at APEC and G20. Both are key multilateral fora which bring economies together for international economic cooperation. I attended last year's APEC Ministerial Meeting in Port Moresby together with SMS Maliki, while our Prime Minister attended the Leaders’ Meeting. Singapore sees great potential for APEC's leadership role in deepening regional economic integration and incubating new ideas.

At Japan’s invitation, Singapore will attend the G20 Summit and related meetings in Osaka in June this year. As convenor of the Global Governance Group or the 3G, Singapore will continue to promote engagement between the G20 and the wider UN membership.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked about advancing Singapore's interests in the face of increasing unilateralism globally. As a small state, we alone cannot deal with the complex and transboundary nature of today’s challenges. We must continue working through multilateral platforms, such as the UN.

Singapore's role at multilateral platforms like the UN seeks to fulfil three main objectives. First, to strengthen the multilateral rules-based international system for greater global stability. Second, to be a responsible member of the international community by sharing our experiences and fulfilling our commitments. These include countering radical ideologies, strengthening cyber resilience and promoting sustainable development. Third, to work with like-minded partners to represent interests and perspectives of the region and other small states.

We have done this through the development of cyber norms and partnerships in ASEAN, our role as convenor of the Forum of Small States, as well as convenor of the 3G.

Singapore does not shy away from challenges. In every challenge, there is opportunity for Singapore to improve ourselves, to share our expertise and experience, and learn from other countries. I represented Singapore at two G20 ministerial meetings on Energy, as well as Trade and Investment in Argentina last year. At the inaugural Urban 20 Mayors Summit, the U-20, in Buenos Aires last October, I shared Singapore’s approach to urban planning and the core of our urban design, which must be fundamentally about "seeing through the eyes of our people".

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I also emphasised the importance of platforms such as the U20 and our ASEAN Smart Cities Network, which provide cities "safe spaces" to share and learn from one another, while building a shared commons of knowledge and best practices.

Even as we look outward, our foreign policy is ultimately centred on firstly, serving the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans; and secondly, buttressing our domestic resilience.

As Minister Vivian shared earlier: diplomacy starts at home; foreign policy starts at home. Given evolving regional and global dynamics, Singapore's foreign policy can only be successful with the support and understanding of Singaporeans.

Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Irshad asked about MFA's foreign policy outreach efforts to the younger generation, as well as how to combat fake news.

I am happy to share that MFA has been stepping up our outreach to Singaporeans – including our students – to explain the fundamental principles of Singapore’s foreign policy and our vulnerabilities as a small country. To mitigate the risks of Singaporeans being distracted, divided and deceived by fake news and online falsehoods, MFA must establish ourselves as the authoritative source of information on Singapore’s foreign policy. We have enhanced our public engagement through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp, to establish MFA as an essential source for the public to verify facts and news.

Ms Pereira also sought an update on MFA's measures to address the changing needs and expectations of travelling Singaporeans, advice for travellers, and the role of our Overseas Missions in strengthening ties with Singaporeans.

Our consular work has increased in volume, increased in complexity, as more Singaporeans travel and work abroad.

2018 was another busy year for us. There were several major natural disasters overseas. For example, we deployed a Crisis Response Team to assist Singaporeans who were stranded in Lombok following an earthquake in August last year.

We launched the "Be Informed & Be Safe" initiative to provide safe travel information through various platforms, such as the new MFA website and social media. Travel advice for certain common destinations can now be found on the MFA website. We also produced four short videos featuring common travel myths during the year-end holiday travel period.

MFA will continue to do our best to assist Singaporeans who get into difficult situations overseas. To have adequate financial protection against unexpected emergencies, Singaporeans should always purchase travel insurance when travelling.

In addition, we have used technology to provide useful and timely services to Singaporean travellers. We are collaborating with partners to improve the public's experience through existing systems like the AskJamie@MFA virtual assistant on the MFA website. We will pursue new ways to digitalise the delivery of consular-related services, and improve user experience through a Service Journey approach.

Our Overseas Missions are key touchpoints for Singaporeans living and working overseas. We will continue to work closely with various Government agencies like the Overseas Singaporean Unit on efforts to engage and strengthen bonds, so that Singaporeans overseas can remain connected to Singapore.

On that note, I would like to highlight how resource-intensive MFA’s service of Singapore and Singaporeans is.

Our MFA officers work under challenging conditions, and at great cost to our officers' personal and family lives. Our officers represent Singapore across a broad range of fields and issues, to protect our sovereignty and independence, look after overseas Singaporeans in trouble, and expand opportunities for Singaporeans.

Mr Chairman, in conclusion, uncertainty will remain a common feature of the international landscape, but MFA will continue to seek out opportunities to advance the interests of Singapore and our fellow Singaporeans. Thank you.

The Chairman: Any clarifications? Ms Anthea Ong

Ms Anthea Ong: Thank you, Chairman. Could I ask a question and that is not on the Rohingya crisis. May I ask the Foreign Minister if MFA if there has been an assessment on whether there is support among the member states in terms of the review of the non-interference policy within ASEAN? I appreciate that this is a foundational principle of ASEAN when we were founded, but I would just like to get a sense from the Minister if there is an assessment on the support amongst the other countries.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The principle of non-interference within ASEAN is actually a foundational principle. We need to understand the reason why we have to operate this way. This is because we are so vastly different. Even the EU has its own challenges with differences among themselves. But if you look at ASEAN, the 10 of us, size, economy, government systems, as I said before ranging from monarchies, military arrangements, a variety of democracies, it would fracture ASEAN if we were to abandon that principle.

So, I much rather our current practical approach, which is by moral suasion, by quiet diplomacy, discussion behind the scenes, and to tell our fellow members that, "yes, you have a problem within your borders, but it has impact on us. And for what it is worth, these are our views, this is how we will offer to help." And sometimes, if it is particularly egregious, we will have to say things publicly. And that is how it has operated all this while.

I completely sympathise with your and Mr Louis Ng's concern for the refugees. But as Mr Louis Ng has also noted during his intervention, this problem has been around for a long time. It is pre-dated ASEAN and we cannot force a quick resolution. So, that is why, it is a long answer to your question, but we cannot abandon the principle of non-interference.

Mr Vikram Nair: I think Minister and Dr Maliki both mentioned that efforts have been taken to make the relationship with Malaysia more constructive. But just yesterday there were remarks by Dr Mahathir at a meeting with the Johor state government officials saying that he is encouraging people of Johor to protest against the current water deal to say it is unfair, and Singapore is a rich country, it should be more generous. Does the Minister have any comment on this?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: I thank the Member for that pointed question. In fact, I think there is an article in The Straits Times today. Dr Mahathir, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, was reported to have made comments yesterday in Johor. And he asked, and I will quote, "how Singapore as a "rich nation" could pay such an "unreasonable rate" for raw water sold by Malaysia under the 1962 Water Agreement when Malaysia was, in his words, a poorer country by GDP per capita. He said that this was "morally wrong". These are strong, emotive words no doubt intended to rouse public opinion.

Mr Chairman, I am supposed to be diplomatic but I think Members of this House also know that I call a spade, a spade. This is a red herring. The 1962 Water Agreement is not about who is richer or poorer. It is about the fundamental principle of respecting the sanctity of agreements. Singapore's position on the 1962 Agreement has been clear and consistent. The 1962 water agreement was guaranteed – no, in fact, first I should say, that in 1962 when this Agreement was signed, Malaysia was an independent country. They had their own leadership. They had their own legal advice. And they entered into this Agreement in 1962. In 1965, when Singapore was ejected from the Federation of Malaysia, we took the precaution of ensuring that the 1962 Water Agreement was guaranteed by the governments of both Malaysia and Singapore. It forms in effect part of our 1965 Separation Agreement. Any breach of the 1962 Water Agreement would call into question the Separation Agreement. And this Separation Agreement is the basis for our existence as an independent sovereign state. Therefore, Malaysia and Singapore must fully honour the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement, including the price of water that is stipulated in it.

Our long-standing position has been that neither Malaysia nor Singapore can unilaterally change the terms of this Agreement between our two countries. As I told the House – I think it was in July last year – Malaysia lost the right to review the price of water under the 1962 Water Agreement. In fact, Malaysia herself has previously acknowledged that they chose not to seek a review in 1987 because they benefited from the pricing arrangement under the 1962 Water Agreement.

Dr Mahathir, whom I would remind the House, was the Prime Minister at that point in time – in fact, he was Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. Dr Mahathir himself explained in 2002 that Malaysia did not ask for a review in 1987 as Malaysia knew that any revision would also affect the price of treated water that is sold by Singapore to Malaysia.

Today, Singapore continues to sell treated water to Malaysia in excess of our obligation. Our obligation under the 1962 Water Agreement is to sell 5 million gallons per day, but actually today as we speak, we are selling around 16 million gallons per day. We are selling it at a fraction of the cost of treating that water. In other words, for every gallon, we are subsidising.

On top of this, from time to time, PUB also receives additional requests to supply additional treated water to Johor. For example, just between 2 and 4 January this year, Singapore supplied an additional 6 million gallons per day of treated water. This is over and above the 16 million gallons per day that I described earlier. We supplied this to Johor when they needed more water because its water plants were experiencing a disruption, due to pollution.

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Furthermore, Members may recall that in 1990 – and again, I remind you that this is during Dr Mahathir's first prime ministership – the PUB and Johor signed an agreement in 1990 to construct the Linggiu Dam to increase the yield of the Johor river. Johor owns the Linggiu Dam but Singapore paid more than S$300 million for its construction and operational costs, as well as compensation for the land used by the Linggiu Reservoir, and for the potential loss of revenue from logging activities, and also inclusive of a one-time payment of the lease of that land for the remaining tenure of the 1962 Water Agreement.

If – and this is an important point – if Malaysia had exercised the right to review the price of water in 1987, Singapore might well have made very different investment decisions on developing the Johor River. Overall, we have spent more than S$1 billion on water projects in Johor, and this has helped not only PUB's water works but Johor's own water works, which are also extracting water from the same river. In fact, Members would also recall that the Linggiu Reservoir's water level dropped to a historic low of 20% in October 2016 because there was a drought and we needed to use that water in order to supply the downstream water treatment plants.

In periods of dry weather – and just by coincidence, Johor is experiencing a period of dry weather now – that is why there had been fires and that is why there have been the smell of burning material in Singapore in recent days. In this period of dry weather, Singapore continues to provide Johor with treated water upon their request and we do so out of goodwill without prejudice to our legal rights under the Water Agreement.

We are permanent neighbours and we want to be good neighbours, and we have never shied away from dealing with difficult bilateral issues. This is why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had proposed to Dr Mahathir when they met in November 2018 that both Attorneys-General of Singapore and Malaysia would need to better understand each other's positions on whether Malaysia still had the right to review the price of water under the 1962 Water Agreement. The Attorneys-General actually did meet in December 2018. Unfortunately, their discussions were overshadowed by the Johor Bahru port limits and the Seletar Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures issues, issues that we are now trying to resolve. Nevertheless, the two Attorney-Generals will continue their discussion in due time.

Since Separation in 1965, Singapore has chosen a different and unique fundamental philosophy of governance. Quite frankly, we have taken a different path of development.

Singapore has no natural resources; we are even short of water. But Singaporeans have long internalised that no one owes us a living. We have provided a framework where all our citizens strive to do our best and achieve our potential by dint of our efforts. We take a zero tolerance policy towards corruption. Our Government plans and invest for the long term as exemplified by this Budget that we are debating right now. We honour and fulfil our international agreements and commitments. As a result of that, businesses have the confidence to invest and grow in Singapore, and we make sure, as you all know in our Budget that we invest in infrastructure ahead of time.

So, on that note, I will let Members of the House and fellow Singaporeans outside decide for yourself whether we have been "fair" or, to quote Dr Mahathir, whether we have been "morally wrong". I think the answer is obvious.

The Chairman: Mr Vikram Nair, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Vikram Nair: I would like to thank Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Senior Minister of State Dr Maliki, Minister of State Sam Tan and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Dr Tan Wu Meng for a very comprehensive overview of Singapore's foreign relations from East to West, North to South, Arctic included. Thank you very much for the hard work for the Ministry and the many people carrying out flag. With that, Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw the cut.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $474,995,400 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $16,000,000 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.