SENSITIVE RELATIONS: DPM LEE’S VISIT TO TAIWAN
From 10 to 12 July 2004, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan on a private and unofficial trip, a month before he was to take over as Singapore’s Prime Minister.
Despite being informed of the trip in advance as a courtesy, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government protested with a strong statement on 11 July 2004, warning that “whatever pretext the Singaporean leader uses for his visit to Taiwan, the visit will damage China’s core interest and the political foundation for China-Singapore relations and hurt the feelings of 1.3 billion Chinese people”,
18 and that “the Singaporean side has to take all responsibilities for the consequences arising thereof”.
19 They also cancelled all high level exchanges with Singapore.
Bilateral relations remained frosty for months, until Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with then PRC President Hu Jintao at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Chile on 19 November 2004.
STANDING OUR GROUND:
THE CANING OF MICHAEL
In 1993, 18-year-old American Michael Fay was arrested for vandalism and related offences in Singapore and sentenced to four months’ jail, a fine of $3,500 and six strokes of the cane.
Through the United States (US) media, Fay’s parents rallied public opinion against the sentence, on the grounds that caning was too harsh a punishment. Bill Clinton, the US President at the time, wrote a letter to Singapore’s President, supporting Fay’s appeal for clemency. The US government also threatened to disrupt Singapore’s bid to host the inaugural World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in December 1996. Backlash from the incident also delayed negotiations of the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
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Despite the political and economic cost of standing up to the US, Singapore could not accede to demands to repeal the caning sentence. To allow a foreign country to dictate how we deal with a matter of domestic law and order would have compromised the rule of law in Singapore and degraded our credibility both at home and abroad. However, as a gesture of goodwill to the US following Clinton’s appeal, the number of lashes Fay received was reduced from six to four.
By demonstrating that we were prepared to uphold our principles even if there was a cost, Singapore earned broad international respect – including from the US. After his Presidency, Clinton remarked to his hosts during a visit to Singapore that “you should have caned him more” and that Fay’s father should also have caned him earlier.
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Rule of Law
Small states benefit from a world order in which interactions among states are based on international law, and not on relative power or size. In principle, the rule of law levels the playing field and holds all states accountable to the same rules despite their differences in size. 22
Singapore upholds the rule of law in international relations and encourages all countries to abide by the UN Charter and the international agreements to which they are party. It is only when bigger countries in the world play by the rules that small countries like Singapore have a better chance of protecting their sovereignty and national interests.
For this reason, Singapore holds the view that international disputes ought to be settled either through bilateral negotiations or through established third-party mechanisms such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Hence, Singapore and Malaysia referred their territorial dispute over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and the South Ledge to the ICJ in July 2003, where it was resolved by 2008.
In the same vein, Singapore has consistently advocated that the territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully and in accordance to international law. While Singapore has no claims and takes no sides in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, we want to see a peaceful resolution that upholds international treaties, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a major trading nation that relies heavily on sea routes, it is important to Singapore that the region enjoys freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as a minimum of conflict or tensions that might disrupt key trade routes. Our position is that a Code of Conduct should be formalised in the South China Sea. While this may not resolve competing claims, it can help govern behaviour, build trust and confidence, offer ways to reduce tensions, and minimise the risk of inadvertent conflict.

CROSS-STRAIT DIALOGUE (1993)
Singapore was widely regarded as having brokered the historic “Wang-Koo talks” – one of the most important milestones in cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan since 1949.
37 The meeting, which took place in Singapore in April 1993, saw Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS)
38 Chairman Wang Daohan and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF)
39 Chairman Koo Chen-fu sign four agreements to promote trade and people-to-people exchanges. The “Wang- Koo” meeting was a follow up to the “1992 Consensus” that allowed both sides their own interpretation of the concept of “One China”.
CONTRIBUTING TO INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
GIVING BACK TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Despite an uncertain start to our independence as a nation, Singapore has been able to find a place in the world and to thrive. This has been in part due to the help we have received from others: friendly countries, as well as international institutions such as the UN. It is important for Singapore to give back to the global community where we can.
Through the SCP, Singapore’s various public service agencies have provided training to their counterparts in other countries, in areas such as public governance and administration, trade and economic development, urban planning, education, law, civil aviation and port management. In turn, they have formed valuable institutional links. Apart from the technical assistance provided, SCP also helps to connect countries to a broad network of Singapore-based agencies, institutions and training providers who can share Singapore’s development story, policy innovations, and governance framework. Hence, the SCP helps us make the most of our track record as a well-governed nation to further enhance Singapore’s credibility and influence abroad. 52 As of May 2015, almost 100,000 foreign government officials from over 170 countries in Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean have participated in the SCP.
As a responsible member of the international community, Singapore has also participated and rendered assistance in various regional emergencies. When a tsunami hit countries in the region in December 2004, the Singapore Armed Forces launched a rescue and relief mission to affected sites in nearby Indonesia and Thailand. Our Air Force flew support missions and supplies to tsunami-hit countries further away, such as Sri Lanka, Maldives and Mauritius. 53 After the disaster, civil organisations such as the Singapore Institute of Architects, and the Association of Consulting Engineers, worked closely with the Building and Construction Authority to help Maldives with reconstruction efforts. 54