Malaysia and Indonesia
Dr Lim, Mr Ong and Dr Intan asked about our relations with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Our relations with Malaysia are very good and continue to grow. We achieved a historic milestone in our relations last year with the full implementation of the Points of Agreement [on Malayan Railway Land] on 1 July 2011. We are also pleased with the smooth handover of the waterworks under the 1961 Water Agreement by Singapore to the Johor water authorities, free of charge and in good working order, after the expiry of the Agreement on 31 August 2011. Both sides also recently reaffirmed the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement. Under this Agreement, Singapore has the right to draw up to 250 million gallons of water per day from the Johor River until the expiry of the Agreement in 2061.
The resolution of the long-standing POA issue put our two countries on an even more positive and forward looking trajectory. PM Lee and PM Najib Razak had a very good Leaders¡¦ Retreat on 5 January 2012 in Putrajaya. Both sides agreed to explore several new, mutually-beneficial initiatives to advance economic cooperation, enhance connectivity, and deepen people-to-people ties. This year, the newly established high-level work group on industrial cooperation will consider ways of promoting the twinning of manufacturing activities between Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia. We will also embark on further cooperation in various sectors like tourism, education, immigration and the environment.
Under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia has continued to achieve steady progress. Relations between Singapore and Indonesia are positive at all levels. Our leaders enjoy a good working relationship, building on firm foundations that have been established. The Indonesian Parliament has yet to ratify the Extradition Treaty and the Defence Cooperation Agreement. They were negotiated as a package and signed by the two governments. Both sides have agreed to put this issue aside for now and not let it affect bilateral relations.
We look forward to Indonesia¡¦s hosting of the Leaders¡¦ Retreat between Prime Minister Lee and President Yudhoyono later this month on 13 March. That Retreat will review the progress on the relationship, including the six economic working groups and a counter-terrorism working group formed during the last Retreat in 2010. These working groups aim to expand economic cooperation in a range of areas from investment to cruise tourism. In addition, we will continue our efforts to strengthen links with the various Indonesian provinces. In the middle of this year, we will be establishing a Consulate in Medan.
Overall, we are enjoying a period of optimism and growth in our bilateral ties with both Malaysia and Indonesia. Dr Lim Wee Kiak has rightly pointed out that Malaysia and Indonesia will soon be having their respective elections. They will naturally be more focused on domestic priorities, but we believe that we can keep up the positive momentum of cooperation that we have across a wide range of sectors.
Myanmar
Let me now turn to Myanmar. Dr Lim, Dr Lam and Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about Singapore¡¦s approach to developments in Myanmar, and Myanmar¡¦s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014.
The Myanmar government has taken positive steps in its transition to democracy. Clear indications of the President¡¦s commitment in carrying out his reform agenda are there for everyone to see.
We are encouraged by the positive developments. Singapore has for a long time taken the position that Myanmar needs to be constructively engaged and it needs to be encouraged in its process of reform. We hope that countries which have imposed sanctions can consider lifting them soon.
Of course, Myanmar continues to face many challenges, primary among them is an urgent need for capacity building to continue reforms, particularly economic reforms. Singapore will help. We signed a Memorandum Of Understanding on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme during President Thein Sein¡¦s State Visit to Singapore in January this year. Under this programme, Singapore will continue to share its developmental experiences and provide training to the Myanmars in three key broad areas in line with the Myanmar government¡¦s priorities, namely, Economic Development, Human Resource Development, and Public Administration.
In view of the positive developments in Myanmar, Singapore and the other ASEAN countries supported Myanmar¡¦s bid for the 2014 ASEAN Chairmanship at the ASEAN Summit in Bali in November 2011.
As ASEAN Chair, Myanmar will be the external face of ASEAN. It will have to defend not only its own interests and record, but also ASEAN¡¦s interests.
Myanmar will also have to reassure our external partners that under its Chairmanship, ASEAN will continue to make progress towards an ASEAN Community in 2015. The world will of course be watching.
Singapore is ready to work with Myanmar to ensure successful outcomes under Myanmar¡¦s Chairmanship, which is important for ASEAN as a whole.
US
For the past 50 years, the US¡¦ role has been irreplaceable in providing peace and stability to the region. That has allowed all of us to grow and prosper. The US still remains the market of last resort for East Asia. There is no alternative to the US dollar as the international reserve currency. The future of the region and the US are intertwined.
Our strong and enduring ties with the US are premised on our shared strategic and economic interests. Our relationship is underpinned by the Strategic Framework Agreement and the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. And our cooperation extends to other initiatives across the world.
I had an excellent introductory visit as Foreign Minister to the United States in early February. After a substantive meeting with Secretary Clinton, we issued a Joint Vision Statement which underscored the breadth and depth of our bilateral relationship. We signed two Memoranda of Understanding. First, to establish a Strategic Partnership Dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State, and second, to create a Singapore-US Third Country Training Programme to jointly help developing countries, especially those in our region.
Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was also in the US at the same time, signed a MOU with his US counterpart to further education cooperation. The two of us, together with Minister Iswaran, then participated in a Singapore Conference. The conference allowed us to reach out to and exchange insights with some of the top opinion-shapers in the United States.
From all of these meetings, as well as discussions with the US Congressional foreign policy leadership and my legal counterpart Attorney General Eric Holder, it was clear to us that the United States appreciates Singapore¡¦s success and role in our part of the world, and is keen to explore new areas of cooperation to deepen and broaden our partnership.
It is noteworthy that speaking at the Singapore conference, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said and I quote, ¡§on almost any consequential issue that we deal with¡K we probably listen more closely to advice and counsel from Singapore than any other country in Asia¡¨. That public statement by such a senior official is extremely significant.
China
Now let me turn to China.ƒn The size, strength and resilience of the Chinese economy makes it a stabilising force and an engine of growth for regional economies, particularly so in the last few years.
Singapore-China relations are excellent, and they are anchored by a steady exchange of high-level visits, strengthening economic links and growing people-to-people exchanges. Our leaders visit China regularly. Chinese leaders, including Vice President Xi, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, as well as many other Central government and provincial level leaders have visited Singapore in the past two years. I also had an excellent introductory visit to China in February. I had good meetings with the Chinese leaders (including Vice Premier Li) and discussed several issues. Foreign Minister Yang and I reaffirmed the importance of continued support from both our governments on a range of bilateral cooperation projects. We discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in new areas. Moving forward, our continued high-level exchanges and institutionalized dialogues, for example the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation co-chaired by DPM Teo Chee Hean and the Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan will provide a firm basis for further strengthening of bilateral relations.
Our relations with China are also underpinned by robust economic ties. In 2011, China was Singapore's 3rd largest trading partner. Singapore was China's 15th largest. China remains our top investment destination. Besides our two flagship G-to-G projects, the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city, we have stepped up our economic engagement at the provincial level through our seven provincial business councils, and through private sector-led cooperation such as the Guangzhou Knowledge City and the Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park.
As a mark of the maturity of the bilateral relationship, both sides are increasingly going beyond traditional parameters of economic cooperation, working on new areas of collaboration, such as the collaboration between the new Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Zhejiang University, and the establishment of the China Cultural Centre in Singapore. The two anticipated, eagerly awaited Giant Pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia will arrive in Singapore in the first half of this year. These are symbols of our excellent relations with China.
US-China relations
Mr Ong Teng Koon has asked about the US¡¦ ¡§pivot¡¨ to the region and how Singapore should position itself, and Mr Singh asked about China¡¦s concerns, about containment and how we will manage that. I will try and answer these questions; maybe Mr Singh can clarify a little bit more precisely as to what he meant. But I¡¦ll answer to the extent that I understood the question.
I will also deal with the questions posed by Dr Lim and Mr Alex Yam on how these changes will affect the evolving Sino-US relations and the regional architecture centred around ASEAN.
We welcome President Obama's announcement on the US' commitment to be a Pacific power. The US¡¦ interest in Asia is not a recent phenomenon. The US has been a vital part of our region, both strategically and economically, for decades ¡V and that point has been made many times. There is bipartisan support in the US for this policy. It is in the US¡¦ own interests to be engaged in this growing and dynamic region. We encourage the US to stay deeply engaged in this region, and to do so in a broad-based and multi-faceted way.
China has expanded its engagement with the region in recent years. It is a key player, with strong linkages, through trade, investments, development assistance, and projection of soft power. And as its economy grows and domestic demands increase, China¡¦s position as an important market for the region will increase. A stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region will benefit China, just as ASEAN and the region at large have benefited from China's prosperity. We welcome China¡¦s commitment to a peaceful approach to development, and we will continue to partner China in fostering peace and stability in the region.
The US-China relationship will remain as one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world for decades to come. A constructive relationship between the US and China will be essential for stronger global collaboration at a time when the global economy is unstable. There will inevitably be some competition between these two major powers, but it is not a zero-sum game. We believe that the US and China can manage their relationship within a cooperative framework. Apart from their own direct bilateral channels, ASEAN and its related fora including the ARF, ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit and APEC can all play a role to help accommodate the interests of all stakeholders in the region.
Singapore has a strong equity interest in good US-China relations. As such, I had publicly and privately conveyed the importance of a stable and symbiotic Sino-US relationship during my visits to Washington DC and Beijing. These messages were accepted by both sides as necessary to ensure peace, prosperity and progress for the US and China, as well as for our region, which would not want to be entangled in great power rivalries. East Asia is really big enough for both the US and China.
Specifically on the question of containment ¡V I think Mr Singh referred to that word ¡V I had publicly stated in Washington that containment of China is not a feasible strategy. It is not tenable and that is not something that the US should be identifying as its strategy. And in my meetings with the US leadership, it is clear, and I was assured that that is not part of their strategy either. So if I have not answered Mr Singh¡¦s questions fully maybe he can clarify at the end of my speech.
Going forward, Singapore will continue to maintain strong and friendly relations with both countries. We will also support the strengthening of regional platforms that will allow both the US and China to work with the region and contribute to all our stability and growth.
Other Bilateral Partners (Japan, ROK, India, Australia, EU)
Let me now touch briefly on Singapore¡¦s ties with our other key bilateral partners. Singapore has maintained robust friendships with many of our key bilateral partners.
Starting with Japan, a very important partner for us. Japan plays a key role in our region as a key Dialogue Partner of ASEAN. Japan has gone through a difficult year. Singapore will continue to do what we can to support Japan which has contributed so much to our and our region's development. And this was demonstrated by the outpouring of support by Singaporeans for Japan following the Tohoku disasters last March. We also supported Japan¡¦s decision to enter preliminary bilateral talks on its participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. We hope Japan can be a full member as soon as possible.
Our relations with South Korea are characterised by close economic ties and a steady exchange of high level visits. Our PM is looking forward to visiting Seoul this month for the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit.
Our relations with India are excellent, cemented by various institutional linkages and the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which is currently undergoing its Second Review. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Singapore in November last year, and our PM will visit India later this year.
Australia, like others, is another long-standing partner. Our relationship is underscored by deep interactions across multiple fronts: defence, trade and investment, education and people-to-people ties.
And the EU is undergoing a period of difficulty. Its economic situation has created ripple effects across the world including Singapore. The EU is collectively our largest source of foreign direct investment and second largest trading partner. We are confident that the EU will eventually resolve its current financial and economic situation, and Singapore is keen to conclude the EU-Singapore FTA.
