reposted by Bilahari of course:
K Shanmugam Sc
1 hr ·
[Bilahari’s brilliant response to Kishore]
Kishore Mahbubani had written a piece on foreign policy
which I found questionable, intellectually.
Bilahari has given a brilliant response – the response that Kishore’s article deserves. I have included the link to his response below.
Kishore’s comments for example: “Small states must always behave like small states” are contrary to some basic principles of Mr Lee Kuan Yew Principles which made us successful. Mr Lee never advocated cravenness, or thinking small.
Did we get to where we are now,
by thinking “small”? No.
That is why Singapore was and is respected, despite being one of the smallest countries in the world. And Singaporeans are proud to be Singaporeans.
As Foreign Minister, I never forgot that we were a small country and there were limits to what we can do. But equally I also knew, that once you allow yourself to be bullied, then you will continue to be bullied.
And I never allowed myself to be bullied, when I represented Singapore.
There were Ministers from other countries who threatened us, in different ways, took a harsh tone, when we didn’t give them what they wanted.
As all our Foreign Ministers have done,
I just looked them in the eye and told them we stood firm. They changed their attitude after that.
Handling international relations is not all toughness. It has its funny moments. One example for me, is a conversation with a former German Foreign Minister. I liked and respected him. Once he was trying to persuade me to agree with a German point of view. And he said: “We small countries should support each other” – bracketing Singapore and Germany as “small countries!” I laughed and responded to say I wished we were small like Germany, with the fourth largest economy in the world and the largest in Europe, and with a population in excess of 80 million. Charm is also part of diplomacy, and he was being friendly and charming.
We have to be clear about our interests, and go about it smartly. But not on bended knees and by kowtowing to others.
By definition almost every country, including our neighbouring countries, are all bigger than us. We treat each other with mutual respect. Once we are shown to be “flexible”, then that is what will be expected of us every time.
Quoting Thucydides without contextualising, may appeal to those who don’t know foreign policy, and lead to erroneous conclusions.
I will suggest that those with an interest in foreign policy read Bilahari. He is an intellectual, with a deep understanding of how foreign policy works.
Bilahari Kausikan:
https://www.facebook.com/bilahari.kausikan/posts/1948237095433710
As one of the forummers usually posts "soixante-neuf" much?
