Singapore in a spin under Trump

[Tony]

Singapore relations with the United States were built on a foundation of strong defence ties rooted in shared values and mutual interests – a stable rule-based global order and multilateralism. In the Cold War years, the Americans armed the Singapore Armed Forces in exchange for access to Singaporean military facilities. In the late 1970s, Washington even agreed to provide Singapore with offensive-oriented weapons to conduct a pre-emptive military campaign in West Malaysia as a defensive measure against the growing communist insurgency threatening Kuala Lumpur.

Those ties continued and enabled the United States to maintain power projection in the Indo-Pacific region. American aircraft carriers have access to Changi Naval Base in Singapore. In return, Washington allowed Singapore to acquire advanced American military platforms such as the HIMARS and F-35 combat aircraft.

Yet Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy, from threatening military actions against small states such as Denmark and Panama to attacking multilateral institutions, has created a destabilizing global strategic environment that runs contrary to Singapore’s interests.