Singapore is a pragmatist country that focuses on practicality and maximizing self-interest in both domestic and foreign policy. At the time of its forced independence in 1965, Singapore had only 2 million nationals, more than 75 per cent of whom were Chinese.
However, Lee Kuan Yew chose to make English the official language, believing that by doing so, he could keep in touch with the rest of the world, as the British once ruled Singapore and left the English language behind.
If Singapore is ruled by France, then it will be a painful and difficult process to learn English to adapt to the world. Therefore, Lee Kuan Yew chose English as his official language, not only out of pragmatism, but also out of the need to connect with the world.
Singapore was the last ASEAN country to establish diplomatic relations with China on October 3, 1990. Since the Lee Kuan Yew era, Singapore has adopted a "balanced diplomacy" strategy, which is adept at flexibly navigating between the two major powers, China and the United States, to enhance its influence.
It is worth mentioning that in less than 40 years, Singapore has quickly risen from a small country lacking economic and security security to one of the "Asian Tigers" and entered the ranks of developed countries, which fully demonstrates Lee Kuan Yew's outstanding talents.
However, the complexity of international politics means that it is not easy to juggle the right and wrong, and if used incorrectly, it can have negative consequences for Singapore. On the one hand, Singapore does not want China to be too strong, and on the other hand, it sees that the United States does not dare to have a complete showdown with China, and this ambivalence is prevalent among Singapore's high-ranking **, so they must be cautious.
Huang Yonghong's speech at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing once again confirmed this point.
On October 31, Huang Yonghong delivered a speech at the plenary session of the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, focusing on China-US relations. He said that peace is unstable, and for any country or region or even the world, the current peace is not solid, and it cannot be taken for granted by any country.
Even if there are differences, countries should still promote mutual understanding and trust and find common ground for mutual cooperation and mutual benefit.
Huang Yonghong stressed that there cannot be a war like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Asia, because the consequences will be catastrophic. He suggested that China should continue to promote economic development, further integrate its domestic market into the global economy, and open it to other countries.
As a global power, China should continue to support multilateralism and the rule of law, especially to ease regional tensions. In addition, Huang believes that China should lead Asia as a benevolent power, and whether China is willing to accept it or not, China has become the dominant power and must therefore assume this role.
He argues that these proposals are made because China's economic development is inclusive and can uplift all countries, not crowd out or replace others.
Huang Yonghong's statement was clearly biased, because he shifted all the blame for the tensions in Asia to the United States. However, he asked China not to replace the United States, which is clearly a hint that China should be subordinated to the United States.
China has been a peace-loving country since ancient times, never seeking hegemony, let alone putting its own interests above other countries. China insists on a peaceful rise and has never wanted to replace the United States.
China is well aware of this strategy of Singapore. In response to Ng Eng Hen's suggestion, Lieutenant General Ho Lei said that although Singapore's defense minister's proposal is of positive significance, we do not want to see a world war, let alone a conflict at our doorstep.
Lieutenant General Ho Lei's response was brilliant, affirming some of Huang's remarks and expressing China's attitude that it does not want war.
Lieutenant General Ho Lei pointed out that tensions in Asia stem from US intervention. He stressed that in order for Sino-US relations to return to normal, the United States must immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs and promise not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Citing the example of the United States provoking China in the South China Sea, Lieutenant General He Lei stressed that the provocation of the US military at China's doorstep is a serious violation of China's sovereignty. He made it clear that China will do everything it can to avoid war in the Asian region, but if the United States continues to escalate its military operations in the region, it could lead to an unavoidable military conflict.
This will pose a serious threat to peace, stability, and common development in Asia.