‘We do not take sides, we uphold principles’: Vivian on Singapore’s foreign policy approach

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore has to be a credible, reliable and predictable partner to all. - NUS STUDENTS’ POLITICAL ASSOCIATION

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s foreign policy approach is not to be neutral, but to act in a principled and consistent way based on long-term national interests, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (Aug 27).

“We do not take sides. We uphold principles,” he said in a speech on how small states like Singapore can navigate a divided world. “I found that actually, by being consistent, sticking by the rules, upholding principles, I get less pressure. It allows me, whether I go to Washington or Beijing, to say exactly the same thing.”