TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Singapore’s new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) said that a Taiwan Strait conflict cannot be compared to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Ukraine is a sovereign nation, but most countries have a “one China” policy regarding Taiwan.
Wong became the Singaporean leader on Wednesday (May 15), as the nation saw its first transition of power in 20 years.
In an interview with The Economist on May 8, Wong was asked about Singapore’s response to a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Singapore has enforced sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and Wong was asked if Singapore would take similar actions against China in a possible conflict over Taiwan.
Wong said, “With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we were very clear. This was a very egregious breach of the U.N. Charter, a breach of territorial sovereignty and integrity.”
He continued, “If invasions like this can be justified on the basis of historical errors and crazy decisions, the world will be a much less safe place, and we will be very vulnerable. And that’s why even though there wasn’t a United Nations Security Council resolution, we decided to impose sanctions.”
No other ASEAN countries have imposed sanctions against Russia, Wong said, “But we decided to take this step, because it crosses and breaches some very fundamental principles, which we believe in and uphold.”
However, Wong said Taiwan is not in the same situation as Ukraine. “People try to draw parallels between the two. But in fact, they are fundamentally quite different.”
“Ukraine is a sovereign country. But Taiwan, the vast majority of countries around the world have a ‘one China’ policy.”
“We have long upheld a ‘one China’ policy and oppose Taiwanese independence, even before we established diplomatic relations with the PRC. It’s a long-standing position,” according to Wong. “We are very careful when we conduct relationships with both China and Taiwan, that it’s consistent with our ‘one China’ policy.”
“We do not allow ourselves to be made use of for any causes supporting Taiwanese independence,” the prime minister added.
Wong said Singapore’s preferred approach is that both sides hold engagements and talks.
“Because if all the parties understand the risk, and the red lines and recognize that this is quite different from Ukraine — I think the U.S. administration certainly understands — then perhaps we can have a good chance of upholding the status quo,” he said.
Wong has described Singapore’s status as being neither pro-China nor pro-America but “pro-Singapore.” He said Singapore is not an ally of America but a “major security cooperation partner.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in a press statement on Wednesday congratulated Wong and thanked former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) for his long-term support of Taiwan-Singapore relations. MOFA said that under Wong, it hopes the two governments deepen their friendship and cooperation in trade, the economy, education, tourism, and people-to-people interactions.
Singapore was Taiwan's sixth-largest trading partner as of 2023, while Taiwan was Singapore's fourth-largest trading partner. Taiwan and Singapore have also cooperated militarily, as Singapore Armed Forces conduct military training in Taiwan under the “Project Starlight” program.