Economic Impact of China-Japan Islands Dispute on Singapore

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether there is any economic impact on Singapore as a result of the economic standoff between China and Japan over their dispute on the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands.

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Mr K Shanmugam: China and Japan are the second and third largest economies in the world respectively. Both are also bound to the largest economy, the US, by intimate and complex ties of interdependency. Any prolonged period of political tensions between China and Japan that affect their economic relationship is, therefore, bound to have an eventual impact on the world economy and thus on all countries, including China, Japan and, of course, Singapore. At this point, the extent of the impact is as yet uncertain. But given the fragility of the world economy, we hope that they will settle their differences as soon as possible. This is in their own interests and in the interests of the international community as a whole.

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