PM Wong: Trump recalled his visit here during phone call, S'pore-US relationship will continue to grow

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong described Singapore's bilateral relationship with the U.S. as "positive" and voiced his confidence that it will continue to grow under the presidency of U.S. president Donald Trump.

Speaking at a youth dialogue at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Jan. 21, PM Wong noted that during his phone call with Trump in December 2024, Trump had recalled his visit to Singapore during his first term as President.

In June 2018, Singapore hosted a meeting between Trump and North Korea's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un.

PM Wong was responding to a question posed by a student about how Singapore will navigate relations with China and the U.S. in light of Trump's presidency and his past policies towards China.

The dialogue was organised by government feedback unit Reach and student-led inter-university initiative Varsity Voices.

There were close to 900 student participants.

Singapore's relationship with the U.S. is "mutually beneficial"

In terms of Singapore's relationship with the U.S., PM Wong said, "For now, I think we are alright in terms of our bilateral relationship with America."

Both countries cooperate in many areas and Singapore has a close partnership with the U.S. in areas such as defence and security.

In addition, both countries are also cooperating on new fronts such as cyber security, civilian nuclear energy, and even in outer space collaboration.

Both countries therefore share a "mutually beneficial" partnership and this is recognised by both the Trump administration and that of previous U.S. president Joe Biden, PM Wong added.

Singapore can manage as long as the U.S. and China don't force others to pick a side

Currently, the U.S. and China are in a competition for global leadership and there is "deep" mistrust and suspicion on both sides, PM Wong said.

He added that while he did not think either side wants to get into a conflict, competition between both sides will continue to grow, which means there is a greater risk of things going wrong.

Apart from additional trade barriers and further technological decoupling, he said there could also be accidents or miscalculations that can occur around hotspots such as the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait.

"So we are in a new environment. A more dangerous, more turbulent environment. It's not going to go away anytime soon," he acknowledged.

However, so long as both the U.S. and China are able to manage their competition with each other, and not force Singapore or other countries to pick a side and bifurcate the world into two blocs, Singapore will be able to navigate between the two countries.

The chances of bifurcation are also "not so high" at the moment as there still exists a great deal of interdependency between the two countries, PM Wong said.

He elaborated:

"If the U.S. were to cut themselves off from China, it will be very damaging for the U.S. economy and for American citizens. So they can't possibly cut themselves off from China trade at all.

So much of what the U.S. manufactures and produces and imports for its people comes from China. So I can't see how a full decoupling can happen at this stage."

"God help us all" if the U.S. and China decouple from each other completely

Should bifurcation really occur, PM Wong said, "Frankly, it's not just Singapore that's impacted."

"Frankly, God help us all," the Prime Minister added.

In such a "cataclysmic" scenario, the world will be on the brink of a "Third World War", he said.

Hence, what the rest of world, from Asean to Europe to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, needs to do is to take action to minimise the risk of an outright decoupling or an outright conflict between the two superpowers.

"Hopefully we can manage the rivalry between the two superpowers, keep the peace in the world."

This will help to provide for a "reasonably good environment" for all countries to thrive and flourish in.

What if the U.S. engages in policies that actively harm Singapore?

In response to another question about how Singapore will maintain good ties with the U.S. if Trump implemented policies that directly harmed Singapore's economy or relations with other countries, PM Wong replied that from time to time, countries will introduce policies for their own interests, and thereby, hurting other countries.

"The unfortunate reality is... this is where the world is heading. It's become more of a 'me first' attitude," he said.

PM Wong noted that the Trump administration has come up with an "America First" agenda and more countries are increasingly following suit and maximise their own country's interests.

He said this could happen anywhere, including with Singapore's neighbours.

"It's going to be a more dangerous world. It's going to be a world that's more inhospitable to small countries like Singapore," he said.

Hence, while Singapore has to accept the reality, it must also work hard and work with like-minded partners to strengthen global norms and international institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and to continue finding ways to strengthen partnerships on a win-win basis, PM Wong said.

"There are always opportunities for win-win partnerships, and we must continue to do that with countries, big and small."

Top left photo by MDDi, right photo via Donald Trump/Facebook