There are many things that India has in common with China.
Some are obvious; they are both rising economies in Asia, with the world’s largest populations.
Both live with the contrast of having some of the most successful high-tech sectors in the world, alongside areas where economic development is sorely needed.
Understandably at this time, China is considered ahead of India, but there is little doubt that India is a looming global power.
Whether it will match China is unclear, but there is no doubt that it will be of considerable influence in the world, beyond what it has already achieved.
FDI King
However, the most unexpected similarity must be that both countries count Singapore as one of their most significant foreign investors in the country, if not the most significant.
This was very apparent in India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore in the first week of Sep. 2024.
It was a short visit, less than two days, and sandwiched in an intense diplomatic schedule between the visits of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez, and Pope Francis.
But for being so brief, it was very significant, with both countries saying that relations between the two would be raised to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership eventually.
It also saw several agreements and memorandums of understanding signed, most notably an agreement for Singapore to help India with its semiconductor industry.
Modi’s two-nation visit, which saw him visit Brunei before coming to Singapore, was the first overseas visit he made since being re-elected prime minister for the third time.
@mothershipsg “This MOU signals India’s and Singapore’s commitment to work together in the field of semiconductors to address the demand from industries around the world,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong. #sgnews #fyp ♬ original sound - Mothership
Friendship photo
But it was also the little things of the visit that highlighted a promising diplomatic relationship.
Modi and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong took protocol photos, a normal formal handshake on the Istana grounds.
But a TikTok shared by the PM showed Modi quipping that once the protocol photo was taken, he wanted a “friendship photo”, immediately grabbing Wong in sideways bearhug, nearly sweeping him off his feet.
@lawrencewongst Caught up with PM Narendra Modi over a meal at the Istana! #india #modi ♬ original sound - Lawrence Wong
Wong gamely obliged, indicating a surprisingly warm personal relationship between the two, that can be seen in glimpses.
One example was Modi complimenting Wong’s playing of the traditional Indian instrument the sitar, as he did for Deepavali 2023.
Modi and Wong have met before, particularly on the sidelines of the first India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), held in India in 2022.
Singapore's diplomatic relationships are not reliant on personal warmth, but it certainly helps.
Decades-old relationship
What also helps is Singapore’s long-tailed approach to India relations, as was noted by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat during his speech at the Sep. 5 Singapore-India Forum.
Singapore has been active in India’s economy since India decided to open up in 1991, and in the past two decades, it has accounted for nearly 23 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in India.
Modi's premiership overlaps most with former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and, unsurprisingly, the pair met.
But Modi also met with Lee’s predecessor Goh Chok Tong, rekindling a relationship initiated decades ago when Goh met Modi when he was still chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Goh was also a prominent advocate for Singapore's investment in India, being prime minister shortly after India began to liberalise its economy, and saying that India and China were the “external wings” of Singapore’s economy, as Heng recounted.
Maxed out the relationship bar
Singapore and India celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2025, which is literally the maximum number of years that Singapore can have a diplomatic relationship.
India is more than just an important economic trading partner, it is an important source of food, with India being the number one exporter of rice to Singapore.
When India recently enacted an export ban on rice, Singapore was one of the few countries that was exempted from the ban.
Unsurprisingly, India came to Singapore to look for support in building up its semiconductor industry.
Singapore’s semiconductor industry accounts for over 10 per cent of the global semiconductor supply, although not quite at the cutting edge of the industry.
But Singapore also has limits to how much capacity it can have locally, and being a crucial player in India’s industry is a good way to ensure Singapore’s continued relevance in a growing market.
The cooperation with Singapore in India extends far beyond just new industries, also extending into MOUs for digital cooperation, education and skills development, health care and connectivity.
One area that was highlighted by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan after the second ISMR held in Singapore immediately before Modi’s visit was that of aviation.
India’s aviation sector was growing at a remarkable pace, and Singapore is a major provider of aviation-related services, meaning that opportunities abound for Singapore-based businesses.
Non-alignment
India has historically been determinedly non-aligned, seeking not to place too much emphasis on its relationship with either East or West.
Singaporean diplomats probably see a very recognisable approach to international relations, with India being decidedly self-interested but open to cooperation, not dissimilar to Singapore’s approach.
But India is also a potential superpower in its own right, and good relations with India is more than just an economic boom, it is a powerful hedge in geopolitical rivalry.
Thucydides Trap
It's never explicitly said, but when I read about Singapore's relations with India, I am reminded of the academic Robert Gilpin and his analysis of the Thucydides Trap.
Traditional analysis of the Thucydides Trap says that a rising power will inevitably come into conflict with the established power, often interpreted as a rising China challenging an incumbent United States, and the looming conflict between the two.
But what Gilpin observed was that while the trap spoke of the conflict between the ancient city-states of Sparta and Athens, neither side ultimately prevailed.
Instead, what happened was the emergence of Macedonia, eventually paving the way for the dominance of Alexander the Great.
The lesson isn’t that India waits in the wings of a new Cold War, for its moment to seize power from either the United States or China, or both.
It is instead a lesson that in moments of geopolitical tension, there is no way of being certain of what the outcome might be, and because of this, it is important to maximise options.
Singapore's relationship with India is that made manifest.
Top image via Betty Chua/MDDI