Ho Chong Weng, Jason
Professor Sheng Lijun
HA9305
1st November 2011

“How Should Singapore Handle Major Powers in the Region: East Asia Summit of 2011”

Singapore’s success as nation is not merely based on its strategic location, economic prowess or effective government. Its foreign policy plays a vital role in creating Singapore into what it is now. Singapore’s relationship with the major powers, the United States and China, will be discussed and also offers some suggestions for its future approaches to both countries. The significance of the East Asia Summit 2011 to the region will also analysed.
Singapore is in a unique position where it has excellent ties with both the United States and China. This can be largely contributed to Singapore’s long term diplomacy strategy of having a “maximum number of friends” as espoused by the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, in his speech on the fundamentals of Singapore’s foreign policy. It is then prudent to ensure that Singapore continues to maintain and better our relationships with both countries and not at the expense of either one of them. Both the United States and China play a unique global role and it is in Singapore’s best interest to have strong ties to both countries. Singapore’s relationship with both the United States and China can be roughly separated into bilateral and multilateral means.

Singapore’s government has strong bilateral ties with the United States government and it is evident in many of its partnerships. Even though both countries are not formal alliance partners, they share very close ties. In 2005, both countries signed the Strategic Framework Agreement to expand cooperation in defense and security. That agreement was a treaty alliance but in name as it aims for greater military cooperation for both countries. Singapore believes that the United States military has a