Singapore looks forward to closer bilateral cooperation with Japan in emerging post-COVID era: PM Lee

SINGAPORE: Singapore looks forward to closer bilateral cooperation with Japan in an emerging post-COVID era, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday (Jun 11).

The friendship between Singapore and Japan has flourished over the past 55 years, but there is potential for the two countries to do “much more”, Mr Lee said, adding that they should continue working together to deepen economic cooperation, as well as foster regional integration and stability.

Mr Lee was giving a toast speech at the official lunch he hosted for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who delivered a keynote address at the Shangri-la Dialogue on Friday.

“Singapore and Japan are longstanding partners, with substantial cooperation in many areas. We share common interests in maintaining regional peace and stability, and upholding an open and inclusive regional architecture,” Mr Lee said, noting that the two countries have joined hands on many multilateral initiatives, including, most recently, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between Singapore and Japan has continued to make progress, Mr Lee said, citing the signing of several agreements this year areas covering defence, digitalisation, sustainability and the economy.

Mr Lee also pointed to strong cooperation across political and economic domains, as well as in non-traditional areas like cybersecurity, environmental issues and biomedical research.

Restoring travel between the two countries and reviving people-to-people ties, is also a priority, Mr Lee said. On Friday, Japan began allowing in foreign tourists from certain countries, including Singapore, for small group tours.

In a joint press conference held earlier in the day, both prime ministers noted the signing of an enhanced memorandum on defence exchanges that identifies new areas of cooperation.

RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES TOGETHER

Mr Kishida said that Japan and Singapore will cooperate on building a resilient supply chain in the region for economic security. They also agreed to hold a bilateral experts’ meeting in the digital field soon, according to the translation of the speech he delivered in Japanese.

“Bilateral cooperation base will be widened with Singapore which is leading the way for advanced programmes in various fields,” he said.

“We affirmed to cooperate in responding to the impact on the world economy, including food and energy fields, as well as to cooperate in effectively implementing sanctions on Russia.”

The two countries also agreed to deepen collaboration in addressing various challenges such as responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile problems and the issue of free trade, he added.

Mr Kishida also reinforced his vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, for which he said collaboration with the regional bloc Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is “absolutely essential”.

Calling Mr Kishida’s speech “insightful”, Mr Lee said Singapore welcomes the efforts of Japan and other countries to strengthen engagement with ASEAN in the areas outlined in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

DISCUSSING SECURITY

Mr Lee reiterated that Singapore looks forward to Japan playing a larger role in the region, contributing not only to the economic vitality of the Asia Pacific, but also to the peace and stability of the region.

“With the passing of the years and generations, and in the new strategic environment, Japan should consider how best it can come to terms with the past and put to rest long outstanding historical issues,” he said.

“This will enable Japan to play a greater role in regional security cooperation and participate fully in building and upholding an open and inclusive regional architecture.”

On other international and regional developments, Singapore's position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is clear and principled, Mr Lee said, noting that Singapore is a staunch supporter of international law and the United Nations Charter.

On the situations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, Singapore hopes that all parties will exercise restraint and maintain dialogue, in order to preserve regional peace and stability, Mr Lee added.

Mr Kishida also called on President Halimah Yacob. They reaffirmed the broad and substantive relations between Singapore and Japan, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

They noted that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic links between both countries had remained robust and even increased. They also discussed other areas of cooperation such as digitalisation and restoring cross-border travel.

Mr Kishida had a new orchid hybrid, the Dendrobium Kishida Fumio, named in his honour.