Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said that growing defense spending, including by China and across Asia, is evidence a peace dividend after World War II that fueled global economic growth is largely over.
“The last seven, eight decades of the peace dividend after the Second World War is over, and you’re going to see increased defense expenditure literally all over the world,” he said yesterday in television interview.
“Certainly in the case of Europe, America still spends more than anyone else, several times more than even China,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Southeast Asia has grown more vocal over the prospect of a conflict in Asia amid fierce competition between the US and China, as Russia’s war in Ukraine further sours ties between global powers. The region’s concerns lie in the brewing tensions over Taiwan, and China’s military assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
China on Sunday said defense spending this year would grow by the fastest pace since 2019, at 7.2 percent, suggesting a ramp-up amid growing rivalry with the US.
Beijing also kept its language regarding Taiwan largely intact in an annual report, implying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is maintaining a policy of “peaceful reunification” with the self-governing island.
“I expect to see greater expenditure all around, including within Asia,” Balakrishnan said, adding that the spending boost in China and other countries does not necessarily imply the existence of an arms race.
“My point is to recognize the reasons behind this,” he said. “The rules-based world order, the focus on economic integration, liberal economics, free trade, all that was a formula for peace and prosperity, and now the faith in those pillars has been shaken. It’s a flight to safety in a way.”
While the region has largely refrained from choosing sides between the US and China, that is becoming more difficult for some. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr reacted to a record number of Chinese incursions in waters it claims by granting the US greater military access.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that welcoming military forces is the wrong approach to deescalating tensions.
Singapore has rebuffed pressure by other countries to choose a side, with Balakrishnan telling parliament last month that “we will not be a proxy or a stalking horse for any superpower.”
The city-state is not a claimant to the South China Sea, but Balakrishnan said in the interview the territorial disputes in the South China “may take generations to resolve.”
“This is an area where China can afford to be and should be more generous to the smaller, weaker states in Southeast Asia,” he said.
In the meantime, Balakrishnan said the US and China should focus on developing economic ties with Southeast Asia.
“I’m not trying to trivialize the the tensions in the South China Sea, but what I’m saying is that if everyone can keep calm, less drama, and focus, follow the money, I think that’ll be helpful,” he said.
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