‘Only permanent interests, not friends, in international relations’

When it comes to the business of international relations, there are only permanent interests and no permanent friendships, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing at a youth dialogue yesterday.

He was responding to a question on the impact of the US presidential election outcome on Singapore, where property tycoon Donald Trump currently has the lead in the Republican presidential primary race.

“Frankly speaking, as a small country, we cannot determine anybody else’s leadership. We will have to work with whoever other people elect as their leaders,” he said. “If you like, we are price-takers. Our job is not to dictate what happens elsewhere or to hypothesise what happens elsewhere. Our job is to have a clear understanding of what happens elsewhere, and how it impacts us and how to navigate those waves along the way.”

While he noted that Singapore will have to learn to adapt to the global environment and find ways to work with elected leaders in other countries, Mr Chan reiterated a point that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made in the latter’s recent work visit to the United States.

It is in Singapore’s interests to have the US stay engaged in this region because the superpower can contribute “positively and constructively” to the stability and prosperity in the region, said Mr Chan.

Asked about Singapore’s transition to the fourth-generation leadership, Mr Chan said it is not a star player that the Republic needs, but a “star team”. The team, he added, must be resilient and put the country first. They will have to spend every living moment thinking about how Singapore can do better, he added. “We need more than one person to lead Singapore, we need more than one Singaporean to make Singapore work, we need everyone to chip in,” he said. SIAU MING EN