Diplomacy

Singapore Chronicles

by Evelyn Goh, Daniel Chua

Diplomacy has played a significant part in Singapore’s success story abroad over the past 50 years. This book shows how Singapore has dealt with many daunting challenges: separation from Malaysia; Independence; Communist insurgency; racial tensions; confrontation with immediate neighbours; wars in Southeast Asia; oil shocks and financial crises; the waxing and waning of major powers; and terrorism, pandemics and transboundary pollution. Singapore’s diplomacy has distinctively combined the characteristics of overcoming vulnerability; linking national security with economic development; being proactive in international affairs; and emphasising cooperation with multiple partners. The book also derives lessons from the past half-century that can help Singapore develop even more agile diplomatic responses and far-sighted strategic planning.

100 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Tish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, mostly-objective summary of Singapore's foreign affairs since independence. I learnt from this book how much of a starring role the US really played in our region since the British withdrew. Especially enjoyed Chapter 2 illustrating how our fledgling Foreign Service gained confidence in negotiating with Vietnam and Cambodia, developed lobbying skills and mastered the rules of international forums like the UN.

I was really enjoying the book until I got to Chapter 5, where to my surprise the authors still seem proud of our support for the US war in Iraq:

'[Singapore] made military facilities available to the US during both the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was listed among the "coalition of the willing". Between 2003 and 2005, Singapore sent policemen, landing ship tanks, transport and refuelling aircraft and about 450 troops to provide logistical support for the war in Iraq. Altogether, more than 990 SAF personnel participated in the multinational effort for reconstruction there. Moreover, between 2007 and 2013, nearly 500 SAF personnel participated in the NATO-led ISAF peace support operations and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Singapore leaders saw supporting the controversial war on Iraq to be in Singapore's national interest, which was in turn tied up with US credibility and global security.'

Later in the same chapter:

"Yet Singapore went further than other Southeast Asian nations in supporting the GWOT. . .their main stumbling block for deeper alignment with the US was the Bush administration's decision to undertake the war in Iraq. The unpopularity of the war amongst the public and the potential for Islamic political parties to exploit this strong opposition made it particularly difficult for Indonesian and Malaysian leaders to lend high-profile support to US counter-terrorism policies in general.

Singapore played an active role in these regional cooperation on counter-terrorism. . .As a result of its active cooperation and contribution to the wide-ranging aspects of GWOT, Singapore significantly strengthened its security ties with the US. This helped to reinforce its strategic priority of keeping the US engaged in the region, as a general deterrence to other types of security threats."

They do not seem to acknowledge anywhere that the Iraq war was a mistake. I kind of liked the LKY-Mahbubani f@*#-the-Western-powers narrative better.