HIDDEN_ADDENDA, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: MR GEORGE YEO YONG-BOON

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Changes in the strategic landscape

The strategic landscape is changing dramatically. The re-emergence of China and India is reshaping Asia and the world.

With the rapid growth of Asian economies, the patterns of interaction within Asia and between Asia and the rest of the world are changing and becoming more complex. We have to respond to new challenges and opportunities.

With all the pieces now in motion, we have to review old assumptions and chart new directions for ourselves. Whether the promise of 21st century Asia can be realised depends critically on stable relations among the major powers, particularly Sino-US relations. Japan, India and Russia will also play major roles. An integrated ASEAN is in everyone's interest. How ASEAN positions itself in this complex new environment will affect our collective well-being for years to come.

Singapore and the region will benefit hugely from a strong ASEAN at the centre of an Asia on the move. If we ride on this great tide, our future will be bright. This must be the objective of our foreign policy.

Singapore's foreign policy priorities

The fundamentals of Singapore's foreign policy remain sound. We must refresh established relationships while growing new ones.

We must further entrench ASEAN as the cornerstone of our foreign policy. Building a strong ASEAN Community is an imperative. We are actively involved in drawing up an ASEAN Charter which will define our collective destiny in Southeast Asia. We look forward to our assumption of the ASEAN Chairmanship next year, which coincides with ASEAN's 40th Anniversary. We pledge to work closely with the rest of ASEAN and all of ASEAN's partners.

With our closest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, we will continue to adopt a positive, pragmatic approach to strengthening bilateral relations based on mutual respect and benefit. There is much scope for increased cooperation. For example, the Framework Agreement that has been signed between Singapore and Indonesia to develop Special Economic Zones on Batam, Bintan and Karimun will open a new chapter in our economic relationship. PM Lee and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had also agreed in October 2005 to convene parallel negotiations on an Extradition Treaty, the Defence Cooperation Agreement and the Counter-Terrorism Agreement. Negotiations are ongoing and we look forward to the early conclusion of these negotiations. For Malaysia, there is also scope for closer cooperation. From time to time, disagreements and differences in views may arise between neighbours who depend so much on each other. What we must do is to build on the positives and not allow contentious issues to define our relationships.

Within the region, we enjoy good and long-standing ties with Thailand. We will work closely with the new Thai Government for our mutual benefit and to strengthen ASEAN. Our relationship with Vietnam is excellent and holds much promise for future growth. We will continue to look for ways to strengthen our links to Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Beyond ASEAN, our growing web of FTAs with the US, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, among others, benefits Singaporeans and helps to promote economic liberalisation in the region. The Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in June 2005 has paved the way for India's greater engagement of ASEAN. Similarly, the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, where both sides recently agreed to commence negotiations, would give greater momentum to the establishment of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. We are also working on Free Trade Agreements between ASEAN and Japan, ROK, India and Australia/New Zealand to complement our existing FTAs.

Because of our strategic position, the major powers have a strong interest in our stability and well-being. They are our major economic partners and provide us assistance in critical areas. We want them to have a vested interest in an ASEAN that is open, strong, integrated and outward-oriented. In a modest way, ASEAN can provide them with a neutral platform to work for the regional good.

Singapore will continue to strengthen its links with the US, the EU, Japan, China, India and Russia. Our ties with the US and Japan are deep. We are constantly looking for new opportunities to further increase our engagement with them so as to anchor further their interest in the region. To support our growing relations with China and India, we will enhance our diplomatic representation in these two countries. Our relations with Australia and New Zealand are intimate and rooted in history. We are engaged in talks with Russia and India to develop Special Economic Zones. With ASEAN at the core, we will work through the ASEAN-plus meetings, APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), EAS (East Asia Summit), ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) and ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) to increase and secure Singapore's external economic and political space. We will pay particular attention to transborder issues such as terrorism, piracy, pandemic diseases and environmental protection including finding long-term solutions to the haze which has afflicted us in the last couple of months.

We are rediscovering the Middle East. We have stepped up high level exchanges with countries in the Middle East in the last three years. Many of them see Singapore as a reliable partner and as a model for social and economic development. We have created new platforms and mechanisms to broaden and deepen our cooperation with them. To facilitate long-term cooperation and mutual understanding between the Middle East and Asia, we initiated the Asia-Middle East Dialogue, hosting the inaugural session in 2005.

We will also explore new opportunities in Latin America. We support the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) as a way to increase understanding and exchange between the two regions. Although our economic links to Africa are weak, we treasure our strong friendship with many African nations and work closely with them at international forums like the UN and the Commonwealth.

Singapore has always been a supporter of international organisations like the UN and the WTO. We support the reform of the UN and the early resumption of negotiations and conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda. At the last World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Meeting held in Singapore this year, a new 'Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks' was successfully negotiated under Singapore's chairmanship. A WIPO Office was opened in Singapore last year.

Because of greater interest in Singapore's development experience, we have been steadily expanding the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) in a quiet way. Since 1992, the Programme has sponsored courses and study visits for over 45,000 officials from 164 developing countries. This has won us many friends. It was in response to numerous requests from foreign governments for our expertise to help build up a range of public sector services that we launched the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) to provide customised one-stop consultancy for such needs.

We are committed to inter-faith dialogue in the world. Without greater inter-faith understanding, religious conflict will create problems for many countries including our own. The messages delivered by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University Dr Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi and the Pope's Special Envoy Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino during their visits to Singapore earlier this year have been helpful and inspiring. We will do more to promote inter-faith dialogue in the coming years.

Supporting Singaporeans abroad

As Singapore's external wing grows, more of our citizens will travel overseas for work, business, study and leisure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will support Singaporeans abroad. We will improve the services we provide to Singaporeans living or travelling overseas especially in times of emergency. Earlier this year, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers agreed that, in an emergency, a citizen of an ASEAN country can turn to the mission of any other ASEAN country for help should his own country not have a mission in the foreign land.

Singapore is entering an exciting new phase in its history. We are well-positioned in an Asia on the move. If we organise ourselves well, work closely with our ASEAN neighbours and strengthen our links to the major powers, we can create many new opportunities for our people to better their lives in Singapore and abroad.