Singapore accuses Chinese paper of fabricating South China Sea story
ricky l14 seconds ago
While not being a party to the South China Sea dispute, Singapore had taken sides with the Philippines and Vietnam, and allowed U.S. air force jets to be based in Singapore "which everyone knows are aimed at China", Hu added.
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Both of the above statement are wrong.
(1) It is not known that US air force jets operate and based in Singapore. Wonder where did the China paper get the information from?
Only US naval litoral ships - light naval craft operate in Singapore - which in no way a threat to China.
Singapore in addition also have been performing joint military exercise with China PLA.
So how does the China paper see Singapore as unfriendly to China?
(2) Singapore is not taking side with Philippines and Vietnam - as Singapore position is not taking sides on the maritime disputes.
Singapore position is to maintain that South China Sea issues to be resolved diplomatically either through negotiation, mediation or arbitration with observance to the rule of law (international law) - to prevent military conflict.
This is the position that Singapore take, whereas China is taking a different position.
By having our own position - does not constitute to taking sides.
ricky l2 seconds ago
This China paper seems to advocate a new international order - not by international law - but by might is right.
Then let us see what will be the outcome in the South China Sea :-
(1) China say I am am big, I have a bigger might - all the rest of the complainant Countries are smaller - and all must listen to me.
Then US come in and say, I am bigger and I am mightier, so China must listen to me.
And then China pull in Russia, and say my combine strength is mightier - so all must listen to me/
And then US pull in all the complainant countries, Japan, UN --- and say now my strength is bigger than you, i am mightier.
Then where is the end?
没完没了。
This is not the position that Singapore want to adopt - because this is what happen to WW2, WW1 and the Cold War. It is unwholesome and it is catastrophic that all humanity want to avoid.
An international order based on international rule - to resolve disputes through negotiation, mediation and arbitration without resorting to might, to military confrontation is the way to go --- to avoid WW3.
And Singapore is steadfast on this wholesome position.
ricky l13 seconds ago
By taking sides - 2 opposing sides will be disastrous --- Syria is for everyone to see.
Russia take the sides of Syria incumbent.
US take the sides of Arabs countries and the Syria rebel.
See what happen to Syria --- 2 opposing sides fight and turn Syria into a slaughtering house.
Does the China paper want to see South China sea to be a slaughtering house - when 2 opposing sides take 2 opposing stands and slaughter one another?
It is madness.
ricky l2 seconds ago
This mean by taking the position of what the China paper advocate ---- there will be a total breakdown of international order ------ and turn the World into a slaughtering house -- when might is resorted where there is a dispute.
And it will mark the flashpoint for WW3.
Is this is what the China paper want?
No single issue should define a diplomatic relationship: PM Lee on South China Sea disputes
By Linette Lim
Posted 29 Sep 2016 18:17
Updated 29 Sep 2016 18:20
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks to Singapore media while on his official visit to Japan. (Photo: Linette Lim)
TOKYO: No single issue should define the whole relationship with another country, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Sep 29), referring to regional disagreements over the South China Sea.
“How do we maintain a position both for Singapore, and also as the dialogue coordinator for the ASEAN-China relationship? You can see what we have been trying to do - where we are able to say what Singapore stands for… where we can try to help push things forward for the other countries, we work with them to do that,” said Mr Lee.
“Where the countries don’t agree, well we just accept that there are different perspectives … because no single issue defines the whole relationship with another country.”
He added that because these relationships are “always multifaceted” - covering trade, people-to-people relations, educational cooperation, and tourism – there needs to be effort to “try and contain the issues where there may be difficulties and not let it sour up the whole gamut of ties”.
Mr Lee, who was speaking to Singapore media at the end of his four-day official visit to Japan, was responding to questions on whether he was concerned that Singapore will be increasingly being called upon to take a stand on regional disputes and the repercussions for Singapore if it is seen as "playing" multiple sides.
“I think we must never be seen to be playing multiple sides. We must have a stand, our own position and we stick to that position whomever we are talking to ... You cannot have different messages for different people because you will soon run into very serious trouble.”
Mr Lee reiterated that Singapore’s basic foreign policy approach is to be friends with all the countries who are willing to be friends with it.
“It’s easier if they are also friends with one another, but from time to time there will be issues between our friends, and we will have to decide where we are going to stand and how we can try our best to preserve our friendship with both sides.”
“NO DOUBT” ON WHERE THE MAJORITY OF ASEAN COUNTRIES STAND ON TRIBUNAL RULING
Before the Prime Minister met with Singapore media on Thursday afternoon, he also took part in a conference and dialogue session, where he fielded questions on the ASEAN-China relationship.
When asked if he was concerned over the lack of consensus on the South China Sea, Mr Lee said it is difficult for 10 countries to have a single position, as if it were one country.
“Some countries are in a different geopolitical position … for example, Laos and Cambodia, which are very close friends of China and have been a for a long time and understandably so,” he said, adding that it was more important to work together on basic principles which all countries can agree on.
One principle important to Singapore, and to most of the ASEAN countries, is the respect for international rule of law, according to Mr Lee.
He noted that even though ASEAN did not express a position on the recent tribunal ruling on the South China Sea, “many of the individual countries did make statements, so it’s quite clear where they stand.”
“There’s no doubt where the seven or eight countries - most of the 10 countries – stand,” he said.
WITHOUT RULE OF LAW, “THE POWERFUL DO WHAT THEY WILL AND THE WEAK SUFFER WHAT THEY MUST”
As the coordinator for ASEAN-China relations, Mr Lee pointed out that it is neither possible to command ASEAN and corral everybody into one position, nor negotiate with China on behalf of ASEAN.
“What is possible for us to do, is for us to be an honest broker … and try to bring about a consensus where that is possible,” he said.
Speaking from Singapore’s point of view, he said that abiding by a rules-based international framework, which includes tribunal, international courts, and the UN Security Council, is important.
“If there is no international rule of law, and it’s just law of the jungle, and the powerful do what they will and the weak suffer what they must - which is what Thucydides has characterised it as - then there is no place in the world for a small country like Singapore,” said the Prime Minister.
He added that Singapore also recognises that the reality is that big powers “don’t always abide by the rules”, and this applies not just to China, but has happened with the US, and with Britain.
Mr Lee, who was in Japan to mark the 50th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, described his official visit as “good all-round” and ‘multi-purpose”.
He met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, senior politicians and Japanese business leaders, as well as Singaporeans residing in Japan. He also collected a posthumous award recognising the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s contributions to Singapore-Japan relations.
- CNA/ll
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