Singapore Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh said in a Facebook post on Oct. 3 that despite a couple of downturns, Singapore and China "enjoy excellent relations with each other today".
30th anniversary of diplomatic relations
Oct. 3 marks the 30th anniversary of Singapore-China diplomatic relations.
In a Facebook post on Oct.3, PM Lee shared his letter to Premier Li Keqiang, mentioning that China is Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore is China's largest foreign investor, since 2013.
"In 2018 more than four million people travelled between our countries – 40 times as many as the 100,000 travellers in 1990. Covid-19 has suspended the flights for now, but amid the pandemic, we have continued to support each other, and embarked on new areas of cooperation", PM Lee said.
Downturns in the relationship
But Koh also referred to an article written by Goh Sui Noi for The Straits Times on Oct. 3, saying that she was "right in pointing out that the two downturns in our relations, in 2004 and 2016-2017, were caused by China".
Koh also said that Singapore was "the victim of China’s unreasonable behaviour in both cases".
The article, titled "A complex relationship headed for a challenging new chapter", studies the evolution of the relationship between Singapore and China over the three decades.
Goh noted that the relationship between Singapore and China has grown stronger and that it has "survived unhappy incidents", with Singapore playing a vital role in China's economic development.
Two incidents
Said unhappy incidents would largely refer to two particular periods of time in 2004 and 2016-2017 respectively.
In July 2004, the then-Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan in his private capacity.
PM Lee had visited Beijing two months prior in May that year.
China was angered by the trip, and the incident saw China freezing official relations with Singapore for a year.
In Nov. 2016, nine Terrex armoured vehicles belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) were impounded in Hong Kong.
The vehicles had been used in training exercises in Taiwan, and the impounding came as not only as part of China's opposition to Singapore's official interactions with Taiwan, but also Singapore' position on the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines, where Singapore supported the ruling of the arbitral tribunal.
The vehicles were returned after some time.
Singapore stood firm without making concessions
The downturn in relations back then lead to PM Lee not being invited to the inaugural international forum of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017.
However, PM Lee's relationship with Chinese leaders seems to have recovered.
PM Lee recently penned a letter of congratulations to Premier Li Keqiang on the anniversary of China's founding.
Koh, who was also interviewed for the article, observed that Singapore stayed calm throughout both incidents, standing firm without making concessions.
Koh also noted that the relationship between the two countries was not of that "between two equals".
He mentioned in his Facebook post a statement which was omitted from the article:
"Singapore’s message to China and the other major powers is that Singapore may be a small country, but she cannot be bullied."
You can read his Facebook post here.
Related story:
We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn
Top image from Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook page and Esplanade