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.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS