Excellencies,
Colleagues and friends,
This year's NDP was generally well-received. I enjoyed the self-deprecatory humour. It is important for us to be able to laugh at ourselves and not be too uptight about not slipping into Singlish at formal occasions. This also shows a certain self-confidence after 44 years of independence and after 50 years of internal self-government.
I enjoyed particularly the chapter on the proliferating little red dot. When President Habibie dismissed us as a little red dot, he was expressing his frustration at our refusal to do his bidding. Singaporeans were at first outraged by his remark. But, very quickly, we grew to like it. Yes, indeed, we are a little red dot, one that is there, right smack at the centre of Southeast Asia, bright red shining through, not to be erased or overcast.
Diversity is in the very essence of Singapore. What makes us Singaporean is a little red dot in each and every one of us --- that precious DNA which binds us together despite our differences. These little red dots are increasingly to be found all over the world as we expand our global network.
When Tommy Koh and Chang Li Lin titled the first volume of reflections by the first and second generations of Singapore diplomats "The Little Red Dot", it had an immediate resonance. One of the first acts of independence by a people is the establishment of a foreign ministry because it now has external relations to manage. Singapore and Hong Kong are alike in many ways but we are different in one vital aspect: we are sovereign with our own foreign ministry.
Since 1965, we have had quite a cast of distinguished diplomats and many have colourful personalities. Each brings a different set of talents into our diplomatic work. Managing them is never easy because of the strength of their individual characters. There are those with hard edges which are needed in certain situations. There are others whose softness enables us to bridge differences, especially in multilateral work. But all of them have the little red dot in them and each internalises the national interest in his own way.
Singapore's national interest is best served by harmonising our interests with the interests of others. As a city-state, our diplomacy is in constant search of win-win arrangements. In a zero-sum game, one can win occasionally but the dynamics must eventually lead to lose-lose outcomes.
Hence, we have an abiding interest in regional and international cooperation which brings about stability and predictability. Our first circle of interest is in good relations with our immediate neighbours --- Malaysia and Indonesia. Next comes ASEAN, which has now become the most successful regional organisation in the developing world. With the Charter coming into force, ASEAN plays a major role in creating an architecture of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific for this century. Like the diplomacy of Singapore, the diplomacy of ASEAN is to have good relations with all the major powers, providing a friendly neutral platform for them to meet one another in Southeast Asia. It is within ASEAN's grasp to ensure peaceful conditions for the continued development of the region for a few more decades, by which time the entry of hundreds of millions of Asians into the global marketplace, into the middle classes of the world, will transform everything.
Diplomacy spans an entire range from grand strategy, trade negotiations and cultural exchanges, to the rescue of individuals from natural and man-made disasters. Like in the first volume of "The Little Red Dot", this second volume brings together the reflections of a younger generation of Foreign Service Officers. Each tells a story of specific responses to specific challenges. Each is a human story. The 21 essays of the second volume are a valuable addition to the 53 essays of the first volume. Together, they are part of our evolving collective memory --- not only of the Foreign Ministry but of Singapore as a whole --- for more than anything else, it is shared memories which give a community a sense of itself and which make this little red dot what it is. Thank you.
. . . . .
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
13 AUGUST 2009