East Asia in International Relations

Essay Submitted by – Meha Lodha

1st year MA International Relations

University of Wroclaw

January 2010

Singapore’s Relations with the United States and

Malaysia

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................1

Singapore and the United States......................................................................................2

Singapore – United States Trade.................................................................................2

Singapore and United States as Defense Partners.......................................................3

Singapore and Malaysia...................................................................................................4

Singapore-Malaysian Disputes....................................................................................4

Improved Singapore-Malaysian Relations..................................................................5

Sources.............................................................................................................................5

Introduction

Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 175 countries although it does not

maintain a high commission or embassy in many of those countries. It is a member of the

United Nations, the Commonwealth, ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement. As part

of its role in the United Nations, Singapore held a rotational seat on the UN Security

Council from 2001-2002. It participated in UN peacekeeping/observer missions in

Kuwait, Angola, Namibia, Cambodia, and East Timor. As a small state without natural

resources, Singapore has established a foreign policy that is conducive for cultivating

external bilateral relations.

Singapore has trade and defense relations with the United States which are very

crucial. The United States is perceived as a stabilizing force in East Asia to

counterbalance the regional powers.

Due to obvious geographical reasons, Singapore’s relations with Malaysia are

very important. This essay will deal with Singapore’s relations with the United States and

Malaysia.

Singapore and the United States

Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has maintained formal diplomatic

relations with the United States (US).

Singapore's efforts to maintain economic growth and political stability and its

support for regional cooperation harmonize with US policy in the region and form a solid

basis for amicable relations between the two countries. The US and Singapore have a

Free Trade Agreement between them. The growth of US investment in Singapore and the

large number of Americans living there enhance opportunities for contact between

Singapore and the US. Many Singaporeans visit and study in the US.

The US government sponsors visitors from Singapore each year under the

International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The US Government provides

Fulbright Awards to enable selected American professors to teach or conduct research at

the National University of Singapore and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. It

awards scholarships to outstanding Singaporean students for graduate studies at

American universities and to American students to study in Singapore. The US

government also sponsors occasional cultural presentations in Singapore. The East-West

Center and private American organizations, such as the Asia Foundation and Ford

Foundation, also sponsor exchanges involving Singaporeans.

Singapore – United States Trade

Singapore was the US’s 11th largest export market in the first nine months of

2009. In 2003, Singapore and the US signed the United States-Singapore Free Trade

Agreement (USSFTA), which came into force in January 2004. This was the first free

trade agreement that the US entered into with an East Asian country.

The agreement has helped Singapore exporters to benefit from tariff concessions,

increase competitiveness and attract investors.

The USSFTA outlines the duties and obligations of Singapore and the US with

regard to areas such as trade in goods and services, customs procedures, movement of

business persons, intellectual property protection and the environment. It also sets out the

guidelines for dispute settlement procedures.

The USSFTA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, customs administration,

technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, cross border trade in services, financial

services, temporary entry, telecommunications, e-commerce, investment, competition,

government procurement, intellectual property protection, transparency, general

provisions, labour, environment, dispute settlement.

During the first five years of the USSFTA (2004 to 2009), two-way trade has

increased 41 percent and US exports by nearly 74 percent. In the same period, two-way

trade in services increased 35.4 percent and US exports of services by 20 percent to

US$7.2 billion. In 2007, Singapore was the second largest recipient of US investment in

Asia after Japan ($101.6 billion), and the twelfth largest recipient worldwide.

Singapore and United States as Defense Partners

Singapore and the US are defense partners; Singapore buys a large number of

weapon systems from the US, and has close ties such as the F-16 detachment stationed at

Luke Air Force Base. In return, the US Navy is allowed to use Singaporean naval

facilities, including the newly constructed Changi Naval Base designed with USN aircraft

carriers in mind. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1990, the US military

is permitted to use Paya Lebar Airbase and Sembawang wharves; a US naval logistic unit

was established in Singapore in 1992.

The Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention Centre (REDI) which opened on 24

May 2004 is a joint US-Singapore collaboration to promote cooperation in tackling

emerging infectious diseases. The centre facilitates the exchange of information and

expertise on surveillance; prevention and control of, and research on, communicable and

non-communicable diseases; and on bioterrorism concerns.

The US and Singapore formalized an increasingly close working defense

relationship in July 2005 when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President George

W. Bush signed the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) in Washington. This

agreement opened “a new chapter in strategic cooperation” and identified the US and

Singapore as “major security cooperation partners.”

Through the SFA the US and Singapore address issues such as counter terrorism,

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, emerging Asian powers, American

engagement in Asia, and the maintenance of regional security.

The US seeks to promote maritime security cooperation in the area of the

strategically important Straits of Malacca by working with Singapore, Malaysia and

Indonesia to develop a command, control, and communications infrastructure that will

facilitate cooperation in the area of maritime surveillance of the Straits. Approximately,

one third of world trade and half the world’s oil transits the Straits of Malacca. Singapore

is a key logistical hub positioned strategically between the Indian Ocean and the South

China Sea. It is also strategically significant because Singapore is the only non-US base

port capable of docking an American aircraft carrier in the region.

Singapore and Malaysia

Singapore was formerly part of Malaysia but was separated in 1965 due to

political differences and racial tension. There remains a high degree of economic and

social inter-dependence between the two countries. For example, Singapore imports the

vast majority of fresh meat and vegetables from Malaysia, and Malaysia supplies a large

fraction of Singapore's fresh water according to two treaties.

Many Malaysians work in Singapore, some living in Singapore as permanent

residents, while many also commute from Johor Bahru daily. Bilateral relations are

complex and have experienced many highs and lows over the last 40 years.

Singapore-Malaysian Disputes

Singapore has several long-standing disputes with Malaysia over a number of issues:

Water Issue

Singapore suffers from major water scarcity. Malaysia has always been a reliable

provider of water to Singapore, but Malaysia has often used threats of cutting off the

water supply to pressure Singapore politically.

Pedra Branca Dispute

The island known as Pedra Branca is located 24 nautical miles (44 km) off the

east coast of Singapore with a land area of 2,000 m2 (2,392 sq yd). The island also

comprises the Middle Rocks, two clusters of rocks situated 0.6 nmi (1.1 km) south of the

main island. Both countries had staked a claim on the island and were unable to settle the

dispute themselves. The case was heard at the International Court of Justice in 2007, with

both parties presenting their case. The court delivered its judgment on 23 May 2008,

ruling that Singapore would own Pedra Branca and Malaysia would own Middle Rocks.

Ownership of South Ledge, a nearby rock formation which can be seen only at low tide is

still disputed.

Land Reclamation

Singapore carried out land reclamation works in the southwestern end of the

island Tuas Development. This resulted in a territorial dispute as Malaysia claims the

land reclamation works has encroached into its territorial waters in an area called the

"Point 20 sliver". Singapore does not recognize the "point 20 sliver" as under Malaysian

sovereignty.

Others

Other disputes include relocating the Singapore station of Malaysia's Keretapi

Tanah Melayu from Tanjong Pagar to Bukit Timah and moving Malaysia's immigration

checkpoint from the railway station to the Causeway. Singapore has not allowing laid off

Malaysian workers, employed in Singapore shipyards in 1998, to receive their Central

Provident Funds (CPF) contributions, which are estimated to be RM2.4 billion.

These disputes demonstrate that the relations between Singapore and Malaysia

continue to be driven by fundamentally competitive forces which show little sign of

dissipating in the foreseeable future. Shared key interests such as the economic inter-

linkages as well as the fight against terrorism may have mitigated the intensity of

differences to a certain extent but the overall tone remains conflictual.

Improved Singapore-Malaysian Relations

Relations between the two countries has improved in recent years, especially

since the transition of leadership in both governments. These relations improved by leaps

and bounds when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the post as Prime Minister.

Mahathir bin Mohamad, the ex-Prime Minister, still raises claims regarding Singapore's

intentions in a number of matters, such as land reclamation. In 26 April 2005, the two

countries signed a settlement agreement concerning Singapore's land reclamation in and

around the Straits of Johor.

Both countries exchanged many high-level visits in 2004 and 2005, including the

visit to Singapore in 12 January 2004 by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad

Badawi who had just taken over from Mahathir bin Mohamad in October 2003.

Sources

Information Paper on the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA), 16

May 2003

Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Brochure

U.S. Trade with Singapore: 2009 (Jan-Sep) vs. 2008 (Jan-Sep), Department of

Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, BEA, and ITA

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2798.htm#relations September 2009

Singapore’s Troubled Relations with Malaysia by Chang Li Lin, Southeast Asian

Affairs 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Singapore#Malaysia Accessed:

January 20, 2010