On democracy, China and regional tensions
IN AN hour-long dialogue with the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tackled a sweeping range of questions on Asia.
The Straits Times, 26 Jun 2014
IN AN hour-long dialogue with the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tackled a sweeping range of questions on Asia.
The Straits Times, 26 Jun 2014
DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
South-east Asian countries "do value human freedoms and welfare but they also have other priorities and political imperatives", PM Lee said in reply to a question about democracy in the region.
Each country has its own perspective and what is key is whether it can deliver "for the welfare of the people, for the stability of the country, for the opportunities for the next generation".
"If you can deliver that, that's more important than the forms and the precise way the rules are expressed," he added.
For instance, while communist Vietnam has no elections, it is "very sensitive to ground pressures" - not just about foreign issues such as Vietnam's territorial disputes with China but also domestic issues like corruption.
For instance, while communist Vietnam has no elections, it is "very sensitive to ground pressures" - not just about foreign issues such as Vietnam's territorial disputes with China but also domestic issues like corruption.
For Myanmar, the military regime changed because the people "hated the status quo".
But its path to democracy will be difficult, rife with "new demons" such as unleashed tensions between the Buddhist majority and Muslim minorities, Mr Lee added.
In Indonesia, which has enjoyed stability in the past 10 years under elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mr Lee said he hopes the next president "will continue the good work".
SINGAPORE'S ROLE IN CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS
SINGAPORE'S ROLE IN CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS
Asked if Singapore is willing to play a role in promoting dialogue between China and Taiwan, Mr Lee said that Singapore, like many countries, has an interest in stable cross-strait relations.
"We do what we can to help but we are not the mediator," he said. Singapore hosted the historic Koo-Wang talks between the two sides in 1993.
"The Chinese have made quite clear that this is a family matter, and we are not family. We may be distant relatives but we are not family."
But Mr Lee added that if China and Taiwan "find us useful" as a mutual contact, Singapore will "be happy to oblige and do what we can".
HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT CHINA'S REFORMS
HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT CHINA'S REFORMS
China's main challenges currently are rebalancing its economy, maintaining social harmony and finding a workable political model to engage an increasingly vocal population, Mr Lee said.
Of the three, the economy is "less of a difficult challenge" as there are plenty of economic development models available.
In contrast, there are "very few models for transforming a society like China", he added.
"There are even fewer models for designing a political system which will work for a society which is changing (like China) - on that scale, with that history and culture, and that need for stability but also openness, and the opportunity for different voices to be expressed."
But Mr Lee said China's leaders are taking the task of reform "very seriously", adding that President Xi Jinping's commitment to the process will help get the system moving.
SHANGHAI AS A RIVAL ASIAN FINANCIAL CENTRE
SHANGHAI AS A RIVAL ASIAN FINANCIAL CENTRE
Shanghai is already a "very important financial centre" due to China's heft in the world economy, but whether it can go beyond that to become a regional hub for finance is still up in the air, Mr Lee said in response to a question on the impact of Shanghai's emergence as a financial centre.
Citing the example of Tokyo, he said that despite Japan's position as the world's No. 3 economy, Tokyo is "very domestic focused" and is thus "not the regional hub for financial services in Asia" the way Singapore, Hong Kong or even Sydney is.
"Each of us, we have our own niche and we prosper together," Mr Lee said. There is "some rivalry and competition in a friendly way, but Asia-Pacific is big enough for all of us".
JAPAN'S TENSIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA AND CHINA
JAPAN'S TENSIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA AND CHINA
Japan and its neighbours must put the legacy of World War II behind them and not keep reopening sore topics such as comfort women, Mr Lee said. "One of the reasons Japan's difficulties are with not just China but also South Korea is because of the reopening of the issues which go back to World War II and before, and which have never been properly put to rest the way they were put to rest in Europe after World War II," he said.
But Japan cannot take steps to develop its relationship with its neighbours alone, he added. "It takes two hands to clap, so you need the Chinese as well, and the Koreans, to be part of it," he said.
Use rule of law, not might in South China Sea spats: PM
China would do well to be seen as a powerful but law-abiding nation
By Fiona Chan Senior Economics Correspondent In Washington, The Straits Times, 26 Jun 2014
China would do well to be seen as a powerful but law-abiding nation
By Fiona Chan Senior Economics Correspondent In Washington, The Straits Times, 26 Jun 2014
THE nations involved in territorial spats in the South China Sea should rely on international law to resolve their disputes, rather than lean on the idea that "might is right", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told a dialogue.
Responding to a question on China's overlapping claims with other Asian countries in the resource-rich waters, Mr Lee also noted that the world's second- largest economy would do well to follow the US example of being seen as a powerful but generally rule-abiding country.
Singapore is not directly involved in the disputes, but has backed ASEAN's call for restraint and a code of conduct to manage the issue. Four ASEAN nations - Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei - as well as Taiwan have competing claims with China in the South China Sea.
"We don't all have to have a dispute in order to make common calls," Mr Lee said at the session on Tuesday organised by the Council on Foreign Relations, a US-based think-tank, and moderated by former US ambassador to Singapore J. Stapleton Roy.
"If we want to be relevant in a regional architecture, then speaking together makes a lot more sense than speaking separately," he added.
ASEAN does not take a position on the individual claims, but has called for the disputes to be dealt with peacefully and in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, he told about 145 diplomats, academics and journalists.
Mr Lee also noted that China has said its claims precede international law. "These have to be given due weight because international law does not go back to things which preceded it," he said.
"I'm not a lawyer so I presume there is some plausibility in that argument," he added.
"But from the point of view of a country which must survive in an international system where there are big countries and small, and the outcomes cannot be determined just by 'might is right', I think international law must have a big weight in how disputes are resolved."
China has seen great powers that tried to "rise by might" - including Spain, Portugal, Germany and Britain - but ended up fallen.
"They are trying not to make the same mistake, and I wish them every success in avoiding it," Mr Lee said.
As China gains influence in the world, a better model to emulate would be the US.
"The US generally follows international law and people see the US as a country which is rule- abiding and law-abiding, and not just a country which is on top because might is right," Mr Lee said.
As such, "the US enjoys respect and even affection".
If China can reach that position - of having its interests accommodated but also being seen as a constructive player in the world order - "I think it will have made a great achievement", he added.
Part of the reason for more friction points emerging within Asia recently is that the countries are interacting more closely, which brings "great benefits but also great complexity", Mr Lee noted.
Another factor is that nationalism within the region has risen to the fore lately, he added.
Mr Lee and other Singapore leaders have urged China and ASEAN nations not to let the spats define their whole relationship.
"I would say that none of the South-east Asian countries wants to have a fight with China," he said, adding "China too goes considerably out of its way to develop friendly relations with ASEAN".
"I would say that none of the South-east Asian countries wants to have a fight with China," he said, adding "China too goes considerably out of its way to develop friendly relations with ASEAN".
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