How Singapore earns room to manoeuvre

I attended a Singapore foreign policy dialogue today with my friends, Jin Hui Goh, Elynna ⬡ , Yap Yunsze and one idea stayed with me.

I had always thought of Singapore’s strategic balance as something to preserve. Increasingly, I think it is something we have to keep earning.

As US–China competition sharpens and the global order becomes less predictable, Singapore cannot take its room for manoeuvre for granted. It depends on our credibility, economic relevance, regional relationships and ability to remain trusted by different partners.

That changes the question for me, Singapore should lean towards one major power or another, but it is whether we can continue creating enough value and trust to preserve meaningful choices.

There is a domestic side to this too. Foreign policy cannot remain an elite conversation. Public understanding of Singapore’s interests is increasingly part of our national resilience.

Small states cannot control the weather. But we can get better at reading it, adapting to it, and keeping our options open.

What do you think Singapore should prioritise to preserve that strategic space?

Originally published on LinkedIn. View the original post ↗