Singapore’s next premier Lawrence Wong warns US, China may ‘sleepwalk into conflict’

Wong expressed concern about a potential accident in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea, citing a 2001 incident when an American spy plane made an emergency landing on China’s southern Hainan Island after colliding with a Chinese jet. Beijing eventually released the crew after the US expressed regret.

“We worry about these sorts of near-misses and accidents and miscalculations, and we certainly hope that the leadership on both sides can continue to engage one another, especially at the highest level,” he said. “And that sensible and rational decisions can be made to prevent things from worsening or deteriorating further.”

Singapore has been one of the most vocal countries in Asia calling for the US and China to avoid a destructive clash that could quickly start to hit smaller countries in the region. A city-state dependent on trade, Singapore supports a strong American presence in Asia by allowing the US to access military facilities while also counting China as its top trading partner.

Tensions between the US and China remain elevated, with Beijing on Monday announcing fresh patrols around Taiwan to “fight back” against another congressional visit less than two weeks after Pelosi’s trip. Earlier this month, China fired missiles that likely flew over Taipei during its most provocative military drills in decades.

The White House has sought to keep the relationship from deteriorating further, emphasizing that Congress is an independent branch of government and that there was no change to the US’s “One China” policy. Prior to Pelosi’s visit, the US and China had been working to organize the first in-person meeting between leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, which could potentially take place later this year at a Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

In the interview, Wong called on the US to engage more with Southeast Asia on trade, saying the recent launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework should be “only the beginning.” Critics of the framework, known as IPEF, have pointed out that it lacks any of the market access offered in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 11-nation trade deal Donald Trump withdrew from in 2017.

‘More Divided and Dangerous World’

Singapore’s goal, Wong said, was to create an “overlapping circle of friendships” in which all major powers have stakes in the region. He hailed the importance of the multilateral rules-based trading system that has underpinned the growth of many developing economies over the past few decades, saying a focus on concepts like “friend-shoring” -- touted last month by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on a swing through Asia -- would make poorer countries in particular worse off.

Wong said the international community is entering a “new world order” in which trade, economics and finance are used as “instruments of geopolitical contests.”

“The old logic used to be that with more trade we can tamp down geopolitical rivalries,” he said. “Now there is another logic at play, which is geopolitics can undermine trade. And we worry about that, because this will lead us to a more divided and dangerous world.”