Singapore has emerged as one of the 128 countries to have voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution.

The resolution called for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and pledge to move the US embassy there.

The vote took place on Thursday, Dec. 21.

But the resolution is not legally binding.

US intimidation

United States President Donald Trump and US Ambassador Nikki Haley had warned before the vote that the US would take punitive measures, such as reducing foreign aid and cutting contributions to the UN, against countries voting in favor of the resolution.

This was made known in an email to representatives of more than 180 countries a day earlier. Haley said the US would take down the names of those who vote against it.

How countries voted:

The 193-member General Assembly adopted the motion after 128 voted in favour, nine against and 35 abstained.

The nine countries that voted against the resolution were: the United States, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.

The 35 nations that abstained were: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Haiti, Hungary, Jamaica, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu.

The 128 that voted in favour were:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi

Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus

Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica

Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia

Finland, France

Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana

Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy

Japan, Jordan

Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan

Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg

Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique

Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway

Oman

Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal

Qatar

Russia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria

Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey

United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan

Venezuela, Vietnam

Yemen

Zimbabwe

Singapore's position on issue

Singapore's vote in favour of the resolution and against the US has been scrutinised.

On a broad level, Singapore voted as part of the Southeast Asian bloc, Asean, which almost unanimously voted for the resolution, with the exception of the Philippines and Myanmar.

But Singapore's vote stood out as it is a major US ally and close friend of Israel.

One analyst pointed out that most UN member states that voted in favour of the resolution did not necessarily do so to back the Palestinians, but to support "international legality".

Pacific allies of the United States, like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, that got blanked by Trump over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), probably found insufficient reasons to vote to abide by America's position.

On an internal level, Singapore’s vote is reflective of its priorities: Speaking for the minority Muslim population in the country and standing in line with its two closest neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia -- both majority Muslim countries -- made sense.

These are more vital than avoiding voting against their close friend Israel, and their major ally, the US, by abstaining.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously stated that the future status of Jerusalem should be decided through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

In other words, any unilateral decisions are frowned upon.

In this regard, Singapore's vote can be seen as a principled one, standing on the side of the rule of law and not be subservient to bigger countries' interests.

Countries that backed the US

Moreover, most of the countries that voted with the US are members of the Compact of the Free Association (COFA).

COFA is a deal struck between the US and several South Pacific islands, including Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

Under the agreement, the islands get US economic aid, defence guarantees and other benefits.

The US remains defiant

Haley told the UN General Assembly that the US will put their embassy in Jerusalem and that "no vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that".