US's Venezuela actions contrary to international law, S'pore gravely concerned: SM Lee

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong took part in a dialogue at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s annual Regional Outlook Forum (ROF) on Jan. 8, taking a question from moderator Chan Heng Chee.

Chan asked SM Lee a question about recent events in Venezuela, where the United States had unilaterally attacked targets in the South American country, culminating in the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.

Gravely concerned

SM Lee said that Singapore was “gravely concerned by the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela” and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement stating Singapore’s position.

The MFA statement said that Singapore is "deeply committed" to international law and the principles of the UN Charter that safeguard the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all states, especially small states.

SM Lee reiterated that Singapore is “against military intervention in other countries, because this is contrary to international law, and is contrary to the UN Charter.”

Contravention of international law

SM Lee said Singapore had “always stated our position unequivocally on these matters”, citing the example of Ukraine in 2022, and incidents such as the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983.

Singapore had voted in opposition to those invasions in the United Nations, and SM Lee indicated that Singapore was likely to follow that example.

“I think in this case, it is quite clear. It’s a contravention of international law.”

Complicated country

SM Lee acknowledged that Venezuela was a “complicated country”, with a difficult internal situation and a government whose legitimacy is questioned.

Maduro’s government is accused of stealing multiple elections, including the most recent 2024 one, with several countries in Europe and the U.S. declaring his government as illegitimate.

But the difficulty that Venezuela had caused to its neighbours through its destabilising of the environment, neighbourhood, and causing some difficulty to the U.S. did not “justify a military intervention by one country into another, unilaterally and without any proper authorisation”.

“The immediate consequences, maybe it works, is a spectacular military success. The longer-term consequences on the international system, I think that is something which we have to worry about."

SM Lee added that from the "point of view of a small country", if that is the way the world works, "we have a problem."

However he acknowledged that to some extent, that has always been the way the world works.

The U.S., SM Lee said, had done this many times over in several parts of the world, as did other global powers.

He asked the audience whether the resulting situation and impact was “a plus or a minus?”

“And I don’t think this is a plus.”

Top image via Mothership & Donald Trump/ Truth Social