Singapore (CU)_ US President Joe Biden made his official inaugural trip to Asia as president this week, conducting a series of meetings in South Korea and Japan, both of which are key US allies. He participated in discussions, the inauguration of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (including thirteen nations), and the Tokyo Quad conference.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, was not included in any of the meetings or discussions. China and Russia conducted military exercises with planes entering Japanese and South Korean airspace during the Tokyo Quad conference. China’s defense ministry referred to this as a normal military drill, although Japan branded it a provocation.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cautioned against excluding China from regional summits, claiming that it would disrupt the supply chains and may make China to play by alternative rules. Loong also cautioned against “reshoring” or “friend-shoring,” which occurs when nations only establish supply networks with allies and friends.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed the Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on Thursday. At the conference, he said, “If US-China relations continue on this path, it will lead to further bifurcation of technology and splitting of supply chains or even worse unintended consequences”. He added, “It’s far better that China’s economy be integrated into the region, than for it to operate on its own by a different set of rules.”
Lee said, “In response to geopolitical tensions, countries have increasingly emphasized resilience and national security considerations over the economic gains from free trade and investment flows”. He added, “Such actions shut off avenues for regional growth and cooperation, deepen divisions between countries and may precipitate the very conflicts that we all hope to avoid”.
