TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has once again called on China and the U.S. to resolve bilateral tensions, saying both sides mistakenly assume they could win in the event of a conflict.
Although Lee believes China will not unilaterally attack Taiwan if unprovoked, misjudgments from both sides could precipitate a crisis, according to UDN.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday (Aug. 3), Lee said via remote conference call, “The reality is that neither side can destroy the other.”
“I think there is a possible misunderstanding on both sides,” he went on. “In China people say the East is rising and… that America is in terminal decline... I do not think so.” Lee added that the U.S. is not as far gone as some Chinese think.
“America is able to attract people from all over the world, has great talent and vibrancy and ability to reinvent itself, and could pick itself up again,” he said.
Similarly, "China will not disappear,” he went on. “It is not the Soviet Union. I do not know whether Americans realize what a formidable adversary they would be taking on, if they decide that China is an enemy.”
Lee continued:“For the Chinese, Taiwan is the mother of all core interests... Xi Jinping has put Taiwan reunification as part of his great rejuvenation vision, but actually it is not just President Xi who has this vision. This is in fact the unanimous view throughout China — the intelligentsia, the armed force, even the population…”
Over the years, Lee has publicly called on the world’s two major economies to avoid falling into a destructive conflict that would force small countries like Singapore to take sides.
According to Lee, Biden's foreign policy is even tougher on China than his predecessor's, despite the Biden team appearing more "reliable and predictable" than the Trump administration. He said this stance has left the Biden team with little room to maneuver.
Lee said the U.S. under Biden wants to compete with China and requires fair competition. Yet he added, “It is a very fine line from that to treating the competitor as the opponent or an adversary… Biden has said there will be extreme competition, but he does not need conflict. Well, we all hope so and we all hope that the line is clearly drawn, but it is not easy to maintain that line.”
"So in this situation, I would say to both: Pause, think carefully before you fast forward. It is very dangerous,” he concluded.
