Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) has warned the US against isolating China over the war in Ukraine by framing it as a battle between democracies and autocracies, which would complicate an already fraught relationship between the two powers.
“You have to be very careful not to define the problem with Ukraine in such a way that, automatically, China is already on the wrong side,” Lee said in comments published by his office on Sunday.
“We all have a problem in Ukraine,” he said. “I think if we talk about sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, a lot of countries can come along. Even China would not object to that, and would actually privately strongly support that.”
Photo: Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has tested ties between the US and China already strained by a host of security and economic issues from Taiwan to the South China Sea, telecommunications technology and trade.
Still, China’s muted response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hardened views within US President Joe Biden’s administration that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) might be moving closer to supporting Moscow as the conflict continues.
Lee previously said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises “awkward questions” for China because it contravenes Beijing’s closely-held principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and non-interference.
“Already, things are difficult enough,” he said. “There is very little trust on both sides. It is not so easy to find the right level empowered to engage so that you can tee up to reach rapprochement to reduce the tensions, gradually to build up trust, and to work toward accommodations which are necessary, if you are going to coexist with them.”
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