But the Asia-Pacific remains a dangerous place, with many potential flashpoints, such as the standoff between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, North Korea’s nuclear programme and the South China Sea territorial spats.
Closer to home, Singapore’s relations with Malaysia and Indonesia have improved markedly in recent years. But this cannot be taken for granted. Dr Tim Huxley, author of Defending the Lion City, puts it nicely. Relations with these two countries, he notes, have often been ‘characterised by rivalry and tension’.
History bears this out. In 1991, Malaysia and Indonesia conducted a joint military exercise. Code-named Malindo Darsasa 3AB, it involved an airborne assault by paratroopers in the south of the Malaysian state of Johor. This raised concerns among Singaporeans, with some reading the scheduling of the airdrop on 9 August, Singapore’s 26th National Day, as being unnecessarily provocative.
In 1998, the Malaysian Armed Forces were put on alert, Mr David Boey, formerly this newspaper’s defence correspondent, wrote. Then, politicians on both sides of the Causeway argued over the status of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) checkpoint at Malaysia’s railway station in Tanjong Pagar.
This is not an isolated case. Just look at all the billions lost by Temasek. in Thailand, Australia, China, ....
