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Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan met with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC on June 17 (Singapore local time).

During a joint press conference after the meeting, they were questioned on Blinken's upcoming visit to China, as well as about the ongoing situation in Myanmar.

Leaving on a jet plane

Blinken noted that he was leaving that day for his trip to China, the first Secretary of State to do so in five years. While part of that lengthy absence can be explained by China's strict Covid-era restrictions, rising tensions between the two have also arguably played a part.

U.S. President Joe Biden last met with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 meeting in Indonesia in 2022, and Blinken said he hoped to build on that engagement, saying that his trip had three objectives.

First, to establish open and empowered communications, so that the two countries could "responsibly manage our relationship".

Second, to advance U.S. interests and values, including speaking "directly and candidly about our very real concerns on a range of issues".

Thirdly, to explore potential cooperation on transnational challenges such as climate, global economic stability, and crime; "where our countries' interests intersects and the rest of the world expects us to cooperate".

Intense competition, Blinken said, required sustained diplomacy to ensure that it did not "veer off into confrontation or conflict", and that was what the world  "expects of both the United States and China".

Essential, but not sufficient

Vivian said that he commended Blinken's efforts, as it was an important and critical moment for both countries, but also for the rest of the watching world.

"So, we hope and believe that you will be able to manage the differences, but more importantly, establish open channels of communication, build mutual trust and understanding."

But in a response to a question, while Vivian said that while Blinken's trip had Singapore's "full support", he also urged that "not too much weight" be put on Blinken's shoulders.

The trip was important because there were many "global planetary issues" such as climate, pandemics, or even cybersecurity, which required the U.S. and China to work off the same page.

Diplomats, he said, sometimes needed quiet time to "engage in some honest-to-goodness conversations".

Blinken's trip, Vivian said, is essential but not sufficient. Due to "fundamental difference" in outlook and values, it will take time for mutual respect and strategic trust to be built. And he hoped that people would not have "excessive expectations".

Blinken agreed with the sentiment of an important but insufficient step in diplomacy, saying that there was a lot of work to be done.

Multipolar world

Vivian also added a Southeast Asian perspective, saying that the region expected both China and the U.S. to be a "clear presence" for the next century, and did not want the U.S., as a Pacific power and stakeholder to go away, to which Blinken reassured that the U.S. would not.

He also said that in the face of multiple global challenges and as the "world transits into a multipolar world", a "rules-based multilateral system with institutions and processes fit for purpose and updated where necessary" was needed more than ever.

Vivian encouraged more travel and engagement, saying that he could think of no better diplomat than Blinken for the current time, though he light-heartedly said he was biased as he considered Blinken a friend.

He also stressed the need for optimism, and the need to keep trying to establish communication.

Myanmar

The pair also fielded questions regarding Myanmar.

Vivian was asked about a recent report by the United Nations' special rapporteur regarding US$254 million worth of goods with potential military use shipped to Myanmar via Singapore-based entities.

Vivian once again condemned the coup as well as the violence against civilians. He reiterated Asean's support for the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), but acknowledge that there had been no significant progress on it.

Thus it would be "premature" re-engage with the Myanmar junta at the summit or at the foreign minister level.

He also said that the special rapporteur's report had not found that the government of Singapore had "approved or is involved in the shipment of arms and associate materials to the Myanmar military".

Singapore was engaging with the rapporteur because the specific information he held could assist Singaporean investigations; or even prosecutions if need be, should companies or entities be found breaching Singaporean law or policies.

"Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of it," he said.

But he also expressed pessimism that peace would return to Myanmar, a sentiment that was shared by Blinken.

Blinken said that the U.S. was focused on supporting Asean efforts towards a resolution, and it was important to sustain pressure on the Junta.

The U.S. and Singapore were working very closely together on efforts to resolve the crisis, both through Asean and on a bilateral basis.

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Top image via Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore