Singapore may be small but it has to make its voice heard, says PM Lee

MUNICH — As a small state, Singapore has to make its voice heard when important issues concerning it arise, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, following a working visit to Germany where he attended the Group of 20 (G20) summit and met world leaders.

“We have to be aware of the realities, but at the same time, that does not mean surrendering ourselves to our fates,” he said. 

“We are under no illusions. This is a dangerous world, there are countries big and small. Singapore is small and we have to take the world as it is. At the same time, we have to protect our interests and do the best for ourselves ... I think these two are complementary, they are not contradictory.”

Speaking to the media on Monday (July 10), Mr Lee was responding to a question on the role of small states and the importance of being included in global discussions such as the G20 summit. Twenty of the world’s major economies — including the United States, China, Russia and the European Union — met in Germany to discuss issues such as global trade, terrorism and employment.

Mr Lee said it is to Singapore’s advantage if it can work with other countries and bring something to the table while advancing its interests. 

“At the same time, when important issues arise which concern Singapore, it’s our responsibility to highlight them, to deal with them and to push for them,” he said, citing matters of security and “fundamental interests concerning Singapore’s position in the world, such as the rule of international law”.

He added: “You cannot lie low and hope that nobody will notice you. And I think that’s how Singapore must conduct our foreign policy.”

Earlier this month, disagreement over the role of small states surfaced in Singapore in diplomatic and public policy circles, after a commentary by Professor Kishore Mahbubani in The Straits Times which argued that “small states must always behave like small states”. 

Prof Mahbubani is the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Singapore’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. 

In the article titled Qatar: Big Lessons from a Small Country, he said Qatar’s current rift with Saudi Arabia and its allies stemmed from the belief “that it could act as a middle power and interfere in affairs beyond its borders”. 

The first lesson was that “small states must behave like small states”, Prof Mahbubani wrote, adding: “Why? The answer was given by the famous historian, Thucydides, when writing about the war between Athens and Sparta: ‘Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must’.”

He also said that in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era, Singapore should be “very restrained in commenting on matters involving great powers”. 

The commentary drew sharp criticism from Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan, who said in a Facebook post that “independent Singapore would not have survived and prospered if they always behaved like the leaders of a small state as Kishore advocates”. 

He said he was “ashamed” that “Kishore should advocate subordination as a norm of Singapore foreign policy”.

Mr Lee did not refer to Mr Kausikan taking issue with Prof Mahbubani’s views — which Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also called “questionable, intellectually”. 

But the Prime Minister said in “specific cases”, there will be issues to discuss and debate on the right thing to do in particular situations.

Debate is most fruitful when people speak sincerely, with conviction, and put their positions across clearly, he added. 

“Stand by what they believe in, and then you have a clash of ideas and then we hope we can resolve in one way or the other,” he said. “Believe in what you say, speak it, discuss it, disagree if necessary and we find the best way forward.”

Mr Lee said G20 was a “fruitful meeting” from Singapore’s point of view as he got to put its views across on global trade, digitalisation and jobs, as well as meet foreign leaders. 

He added: “From the overall G20 point of view, it’s more difficult because the US’ view has become different from the view of the other participants on trade as well as on climate change. 

“The communique (leaders’ declaration at the end of the summit) reflected this difference in views and the tension in the positions of the different countries. But for Singapore, I found it a productive visit.”