Bilahari Kausikan speaking at Singapore Platforn for East-West Dialogue
On 11 October, Bilahari Kausikan, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke at our monthly Singapore Platform for East-West Dialogue. He focused on why a small country should not behave like a small country.
The following is a selection of tweets highlighting the main points he made.
The reality of Singapore’s standing on the world stage
BK: If you’re a small city state, you have to understand that you’re intrinsically irrelevant on the world stage. #SGEastWest #Politics
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: SG doesn’t need to be sovereign or independent to perform functions she’s known for— a trading and financial hub. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: Therefore, we can’t take what we have for granted. To be relevant, we need to be successful. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: And by successful, we need to be extraordinarily successful in order to be taken seriously. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
An exceptional quality of Singapore
BK: One element of our exceptionalism is our organisational logic—equality amongst the races and cultures. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: Of course, that doesn’t mean we have done it perfectly. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
Singapore’s relationship with China
BK: Another unique feature of SG is that we’re a Chinese maj. ctry in our region. That puts us in an interesting r/s with China #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: China is a Leninist and a civilisational state. The latter is clear in President Xi’s speech several years ago. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: Accepting China’s preeminence as a geopolitical fact is vastly diff. from accepting Chinese dominance as a political norm. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: China has constantly tested our leaders to see their resolve in standing their ground for Singapore’s interest. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
BK: With SG being only 52 years old, are you confident that the identity of being a Singapore-Chinese is strong? #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
On the nature of friendship between countries
BK: Friendship on an international stage merely means a convergence of interests. #SGEastWest #Diplomacy
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
On the South China Sea issue
Bilahari Kausikan: I agree with Prof. Wang Gungwu that the South China Sea issue is about sovereignty for China. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
Bilahari Kausikan: In fact, I’ll go further and say that it’s also about the legitimacy of the CCP. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
Bilahari Kausikan: Some measure of competition between great powers isn’t too bad for us, as we have manoeuvre room. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
When asked about ASEAN’s general reticence on the Rohingya issue
BK: ASEAN is meant to manage relations among c’tries. But that means we keep out of each other’s domestic affairs. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
Bilahari Kausikan: It’s pointless to criticise a cow for being an imperfect horse. ASEAN is a cow, not a horse. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
Final Thought
Bilahari Kausikan: You should not let ur size limit ambitions. You can’t be smth other than you are, we can be of high quality. #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) October 11, 2017
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