PRC Mouthpiece spells it very clear: 1) Terminate StartLight Exercise; 2) STFU on issues not concerning you.
Nature of Chinese-Singaporean relationship exposed amid changing landscape
By Zhou Fangyin
Against the backdrop of a changing South China Sea scenario, and in the wake of Donald Trump's election, with an unclear prospect for the US Asia-Pacific policy recalibration, a cargo ship from Taiwan with nine armored vehicles belonging to Singapore on board was detained at a terminal in Hong Kong. Amid changes in the Asia-Pacific pattern, how will the China-Singapore relationship develop in the next step?
The detention of the armored vehicles is not regarded as an isolated event. It occurred in a special and complicated context. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's reversal over the South China Sea situation has made the US long-term efforts in stirring up trouble in the waters in vain.
Since the pivot to the Asia-Pacific, Washington had been vigorously hyping the South China Sea issue; however, the simmering situation rapidly cooled down in a short period after the South China Sea arbitration.
This demonstrates the deep-seated evolution in the regional order. At a time when the Philippines and Malaysia made different degrees of adjustments in their attitudes toward China, and the US and Vietnam maintained relatively silent, Singapore continued to make an issue of the South China Sea disputes. For a while, it was considered as the toughest among Southeast Asian countries over the issue.
It's nothing serious for Singapore to demonstrate its stance, but it shouldn't expect China to tolerate it. It's not the normal logic of state-to-state relations that one can expect the other's tolerance and lenience when it acts against the latter.
The recent diplomatic row between China and Singapore over the detention of armored vehicles provokes thinking: Was the bilateral relationship in the past as good as it appeared? How will it develop next? If Singapore continues to cross the bottom line of China over the South China Sea and the Taiwan question, how will China react? And how will Singapore choose its future policy?
The development of the China-Singapore relationship in the latter half of the year indicates that the strategic foundation of bilateral relations is far from being solid.
With Singapore's high-profile stance on the South China Sea issue, its long-term military training in Taiwan has become no secret. This needs to be dealt with in a certain way and clarified.
Some observers interpret the incident of the armored vehicles as China's retaliation against Singapore's offence toward China over the South China Sea issue. But it's another issue concerning whether Singapore adheres to the one-China principle. Singapore tried to evade making its stance clear. This is obviously of little help in solving the incident.
Given what has happed over the past year, it's not surprising if the China-Singapore relationship undergoes big adjustments at a certain period in the future. This doesn't mean the bilateral relationship has deteriorated, but that the nature of the relationship was exposed.
The China-Singapore relationship will not break up, because there is no need for China to make a great fuss while Singapore cannot afford breakups with China. But Singapore should learn the lesson that, if it tries to challenge China on important issues, it has to be prepared to bear consequences. Don't play tricks in front of China's determination - this is a more sensible option for Singapore.
Singapore has long attempted to serve as a bridge or middleman between China and the US, and the mainland and Taiwan. But this will by no means work in the future.
The bilateral relationship used to be based on private ties between former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and late Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. But nowadays, a simply state-to-state relationship is more feasible.
Nature of Chinese-Singaporean relationship exposed amid changing landscape
By Zhou Fangyin
Against the backdrop of a changing South China Sea scenario, and in the wake of Donald Trump's election, with an unclear prospect for the US Asia-Pacific policy recalibration, a cargo ship from Taiwan with nine armored vehicles belonging to Singapore on board was detained at a terminal in Hong Kong. Amid changes in the Asia-Pacific pattern, how will the China-Singapore relationship develop in the next step?
The detention of the armored vehicles is not regarded as an isolated event. It occurred in a special and complicated context. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's reversal over the South China Sea situation has made the US long-term efforts in stirring up trouble in the waters in vain.
Since the pivot to the Asia-Pacific, Washington had been vigorously hyping the South China Sea issue; however, the simmering situation rapidly cooled down in a short period after the South China Sea arbitration.
This demonstrates the deep-seated evolution in the regional order. At a time when the Philippines and Malaysia made different degrees of adjustments in their attitudes toward China, and the US and Vietnam maintained relatively silent, Singapore continued to make an issue of the South China Sea disputes. For a while, it was considered as the toughest among Southeast Asian countries over the issue.
It's nothing serious for Singapore to demonstrate its stance, but it shouldn't expect China to tolerate it. It's not the normal logic of state-to-state relations that one can expect the other's tolerance and lenience when it acts against the latter.
The recent diplomatic row between China and Singapore over the detention of armored vehicles provokes thinking: Was the bilateral relationship in the past as good as it appeared? How will it develop next? If Singapore continues to cross the bottom line of China over the South China Sea and the Taiwan question, how will China react? And how will Singapore choose its future policy?
The development of the China-Singapore relationship in the latter half of the year indicates that the strategic foundation of bilateral relations is far from being solid.
With Singapore's high-profile stance on the South China Sea issue, its long-term military training in Taiwan has become no secret. This needs to be dealt with in a certain way and clarified.
Some observers interpret the incident of the armored vehicles as China's retaliation against Singapore's offence toward China over the South China Sea issue. But it's another issue concerning whether Singapore adheres to the one-China principle. Singapore tried to evade making its stance clear. This is obviously of little help in solving the incident.
Given what has happed over the past year, it's not surprising if the China-Singapore relationship undergoes big adjustments at a certain period in the future. This doesn't mean the bilateral relationship has deteriorated, but that the nature of the relationship was exposed.
The China-Singapore relationship will not break up, because there is no need for China to make a great fuss while Singapore cannot afford breakups with China. But Singapore should learn the lesson that, if it tries to challenge China on important issues, it has to be prepared to bear consequences. Don't play tricks in front of China's determination - this is a more sensible option for Singapore.
Singapore has long attempted to serve as a bridge or middleman between China and the US, and the mainland and Taiwan. But this will by no means work in the future.
The bilateral relationship used to be based on private ties between former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and late Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. But nowadays, a simply state-to-state relationship is more feasible.
