Significance of Closure of ASEAN Engagement Office by US Government

69 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of the closure of the ASEAN Engagement Office by the US government, what is the Ministry's assessment of (a) the significance of this measure on the US-ASEAN relationship; (b) what can ASEAN do to improve the US-ASEAN relationship; and (c) what can Singapore do to improve the US-Singapore relationship.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States (US) enjoy a broad, substantive and mutually beneficial relationship, built up over decades and across both democrat and republican administrations. ASEAN and the US have worked hard to promote dialogue, cooperate substantively and build trust. In 2027, we will commemorate 50 years of ASEAN-US dialogue relations and will use this opportunity to further expand our cooperation.

According to the US State Department, its internal reorganisation does not change the longstanding partnership between ASEAN and the US. Economic activities between ASEAN and the US already support more than 625,000 American jobs. The US continues to be ASEAN's top source of foreign investment, with a total foreign direct investment (FDI) stock of $798.8 billion in 2023. This is more than what the US has invested in China, India, Japan and South Korea combined. At a meeting between the foreign ministers of ASEAN and the US in July 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed that ASEAN continued to be the "pre-eminent mechanism" by which the US engaged the region.

Every change of administration presents opportunities for collaboration in new and practical areas. Earlier this year, ASEAN and the US endorsed the ASEAN-US Responsible AI Roadmap, which provides a guide for ASEAN governments to operationalise responsible AI. This helps to ensure that ASEAN as a region remains a secure and competitive destination for US firms to do business in.

On cyber scams, US firms, like Meta, are working with regulators in the region to tackle this scourge by improving verification processes and strengthening cyber defences. We can look at ways to expand such cooperation to include other private sector players and share expertise at the government-to-government level.

Singapore's relations with the US are also substantive, longstanding and enjoy bipartisan support. We have been a consistent and reliable partner of the US for decades. Our cooperation spans many domains, including defence, security, economic and people-to-people ties. This deep reservoir of trust has allowed us to expand collaboration to newer areas, such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, outer space, civilian nuclear technology and quantum technology.

We continue to engage the Trump administration. My Cabinet colleagues and I have had good interactions with our US counterparts. These have been reported on in the media so I will not detail them. Specifically on tariff negotiations, we are in preliminary discussions with the US to explore practical ways to facilitate our pharmaceutical and semiconductor exports to the US. The Deputy Prime Minister Gan has had several virtual engagements with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to this end.

We also continue to cultivate good relationships in the US Congress. I was pleased to learn that the US Congressional Singapore Caucus Co-chairs recently took the initiative to introduce a resolution in the house of representatives, in conjunction with SG60, to express continued support for the bilateral relationship. Through our sustained engagements with the US, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to foster greater appreciation of Singapore and our relationship with the US.