China misunderstand Singapore? Really?

Tommy Koh wrote a piece titled ‘What China misunderstands Singapore’ in the ST on 21 Oct 16. Before dealing with the content of what he said, let me just take a broad view of what the article is trying to say. My first point, is the author assuming that the Chinese are not that clever and did not understand what Singapore is all about? If that is the case maybe Singapore can loan one of its super talented diplomats to help the Chinese understand Singapore.  Even our journalists and political thinkers are all full of themselves and wanting to teach the Chinese how to run their country.

Oh, they did not know that Singapore is a multi racial country and is in the middle of a sea of Muslim states and have different kinds of problems and issues to think about. They did not understand or got no intelligence to understand that Singapore needs the Americans to use might is right to protect Singapore from its neigbours if they turned hostile.

Ok, let me deal with the straw men that were raised to be shot down.  I would not deal with every little piece of thing the author said but just a few pertinent points for discussion. The Chinese, because Singapore has a Chinese majority country, ‘has given rise to unreasonable expectations on the part of China towards Singapore’. Now what are these unreasonable expectations and why are these unreasonable? ‘They feel that since Singaporeans are fellow Chinese, we should have a better understanding of China’s policies than other Asean countries. They also expect Singapore to support China’s policies.’ The first expectation, a better understanding of China’s policies, unreasonable? Even without the Chinese majority, any foreign officer or leader in charge of foreign affairs are expected to try to have a better understanding of the policies of big powers. Whether he/she agrees is another thing. It will only be an issue when taking a position. What is so unreasonable about a better understanding of another country’s position?

The second expectation, Singapore to support China’s policies. This would be unreasonable when the policies are against the interest of Singapore.  And if it is a case of a tussle between two super powers, it would be unreasonable for China to expect Singapore to support China against another superpower. Likewise it would be unreasonable for Singapore to support another super power against China. Ok, this part is only true if Singapore really wants to be neutral. See, we can see clearly why China is unreasonable but blind to our own unreasonableness. Oh, I forgot, we support US position, or not really support US position, is because we are supporting principles, supporting international laws, supporting freedom of navigation, and these seemed to be the same as what the US is supporting, so we are not supporting the US against China, we are not unreasonable. My eyeballs are rolling. To say this kind of argument is clever is as good as saying snake oil salesmen are very clever.
I do not want to rehash why the kangaroo court is not UN backed and is not about international law or freedom of navigation is affected or someone is more principled and someone is not.

How many reasonable people, principled people, really believe, honestly believe, that the kangaroo court, the way it was set up and the way judgement was passed, is about international law, upholding international law and about principles, justice and fair play?

I will touch on the other 3 ‘misunderstandings’ if I feel exasperated enough to touch on them later, one at a time.

A kangaroo court is a kangaroo court, UN backed or not UN backed. And this kangaroo court was definitely not UN backed.  And its decision was nothing binding and nothing about international law. It abused international law by its rubbish interpretation of reefs and islands. Not all international judges are intelligent and the kangaroo court is a good example to prove how silly these people can be.

AHPETC saga is ongoing – What is the point?

I don’t know and don’t really care. Any impact on the parties involved, on the residents managed by the town council? Plenty! The WP would be so tied up with the ongoings that not only they would be so frustrated, agitated but also got no time for anything else. They would be spending a lot of their time and energy answering to the other party and trying to take defensive measures, preparing and wondering what would be next coming. The other party has all the resources to sit on the matter, keep digging, keep asking, till the cow comes home, or till the next GE, hopefully the WP would be no more.

What about cost? How many man hours, how many professional hours would be charged to the affair? And who would be paying for it? The WP or the residents?

I hope the charges and fees would not be coming out from the residents, from their fees and charges paid to the town council, from the reserves in the town council. But I think it would come from the residents as the WP are managing the town council and the people’s fund and any cost would likely be paid officially from the town council fund as they are working in the official capacity as town council management..

As the unending saga continues, like the fairy tales of the unending story, would the town council be bankrupt at the end of the story? If so, who should be responsible for this sorry state of affair? Never mind the incapacitating of the WP, with little time left to perform their duty as town council managers and as MPs in Parliament. Tsk, tsk, tsk….

Stupidity has no cure

Whenever Xi Jinping goes on a foreign state visit, he would bring along an entourage of businessmen and agreements to be signed for infrastructure developments, trade deals and a suitcase of cash to fund the deals. Many developing countries are eagerly hoping for a visit by President like waiting for a Santa Claus in Christmas. And they would not be disappointed.

Duterte of the Philippines just did the reverse. He brought a team of businessmen to visit Xi Jinping. This is like if the Mohammed does not visit the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed. And the results are likely to be the same. Duterte is going to return to the Philippines with a bag of goodies for his people. There will be many trade deals and infrastructure development projects. He wants a few railway lines for the Philippines and would not be disappointed. If he wants ports, industrial projects, new cities, all he has to do is asked.

When the Obama goes visiting, he would bring along his generals and also an entourage of business honchos.  And he would be very generous to sell military weapons, guns, missiles, tanks, fighter aircraft, battle ships, drones, anything that can be used for wars. And in return he would want the countries he visited to sign military alliances with the Americans, to provide military bases for the Americans.

And the unthinking will be screaming their lungs out, the Chinese President is expansionist and planning to start a war of conquest. The Chinese President is coercing the other countries to take advantage of them, to exploit their natural resources. The Chinese are belligerent and waiting to start wars. Just you wait, just you wait, they are coming to attack you and to rob your country to build a Chinese Empire.

Oh, the Americans are peace loving countries. They sell weapons to countries for peace, so that they can live in peace. They sign military alliances to protect these countries from their enemies. They did not have enemies but once they signed the agreements, the enemies of the Americans would become their enemies. And they must provide land for the American Empire to station their soldiers and war machine.  No, the Americans are not taking control of their countries, the Americans are not their colonial masters, just the Emperor of the American Empire and these countries signing the military alliances just become part of the American Empire and now have enemies to fight for.

The Americans are all for peace, very peace loving people. When they conduct regime change like the invasion of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan, they are there to fight terrorists or rogue regimes, to protect the people of those countries.

Yeah, yeah, the Americans are for peace, the Chinese are for war. The Chinese are coming. Never mind if the Americans are already in their countries with their soldiers and military bases as the new masters.

Stupidity has no cure.

Below are quotes from Duterte, ‘The Asian giant was “good”, …It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations….During the Cold War, China was portrayed as the bad guy, …And all of these years, what we have read in our books in school was all propaganda produced by the West.’

Remove your blinkers and compare facts against fiction, for goodness sake, and stop being stupid. We must know our own history, write our own history, know our own truths.

Father of American Rocketry

The Chinese have just sent two astronauts to their space station for a 30 day experiment. Everyone is taking this event as a non event. No one stop to think how the rocket will fly when it is slotted to fly. The Chinese rockets just fly every time they were launched. It is a non event, yes, it is taken for granted that all Chinese rockets will fly as expected.

The North Koreans have been trying to master this craft and have quite a number of successes. But not every North Korean rocket flies as expected. Quite a number would not make it. The South Koreans are still unable to send a rocket flying to space. The Japanese are more successful but still have no confidence to send their astronauts up in their own rockets.

The Indians too is advancing in this field, launching satellites and would soon be sending their astronauts to space. The Russians are still ahead, steadily sending their astronauts to their space station when needed.

Where are the Americans? Never heard of the NASA sending their astronauts to their space station anymore. The last heard, they hitched a ride on a Russian rocket. What happened to the American space programme? Shelved? Mothballed?

Yes, the Americans have shelved their space programme for the time being but not giving up.  The American space programme budget is US40b compares to the Chinese US$13b.  But they are unable to fly their rockets for the time being. The last few they launched flew for a few minutes and went boomed, killing all the astronauts in them. The Americans did not seem to have confidence in their rockets any more.

Ever since they exchanged the Father of American Rocketry for a few American prisoners in China in the 1950s, they were unable to improve on their rocket technology.  The rocket technology that works is in China, was brought to China inside the head of America’s Father of Rocketry, Qian Xueshen.  The Americans would have to find another scientist to help them build rockets that can fly and not go kaboomed on launched. Launching rockets safely into space is now second nature to the Chinese space programme while the Americans still did not have a clue how to get this right.

Qian Xueshen is also the Father of China’s rocketry and space programme. He made it all happened, built a strong foundation for China to take the leap forward in space technology and exploration.

Singapore’s PMs growing in stature and power

Sunday 16 Oct there was an article in the Sunday Times by a Chong Zi Liang on 'Spore's foreign policy in a challenging world'. What was written in the two page centre spread was nothing that we do not know. The only thing that gave me a leg up was the quotes of three PMs, one after another, on how Singapore should conduct its foreign policy as a small state. Let me just quote them and show the difference in the thinking and greatness of the 3 PMs and how their views changed over time.

Lee Kuan Yew said:

'Singapore has to take the world as it is. It is too small to change it. But we can try to maximise the space we have to manoeuvre among the big 'trees' in the region.  That has been our approach and we will have to be nimble and resourceful to be able to continue doing so.'

LKY understood that we were a small state and we were price takers of sort. We had to accept the world and to adapt to the world, not to be too swell headed to think we could change the world. We must adapt and try to make the best of the situation by playing along.

Goh Chok Tong said:

'Singapore is a small country, but we do not drift aimlessly. We are not a piece of flotsam.  We have a definite place in the world, and a definite view of life, and of what is right and wrong.

Whether it is 1985 or 1998, I expect that we will be guided by the same basic philosophy that every country, big or small, has a right to be itself. It has a right to live, a right to its own way of life.

From this philosophy springs our foreign policy and our defence policy.  We will be friends with anyone who wishes to be friends with us.  We are not, and will not, be aligned with any bloc, though our ties are closer with the West than with the Communist bloc of countries.'

So you see, Chok Tong is more garang. We would not simply be price takers. We want to be ourself, choose our friends but be friends to everyone who wants to be our friend but not aligned to anyone. But he clarified that we would be a bit closer to the West. Neutrality was still important though a little leaning to the West.

Lee Hsien Loong said:

'Upholding international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes is a vital interest for a small country like Singapore....Nevertheless, Singapore must support and strive for a rules base international order.  We have to depend on words and treaties.  They mean everything to us.  We cannot afford to have international relations work on the basis that might is right. If rules do not matter, then small countries like Singapore have no chance of survival.'

Now can you see the changes? LKY talked about accepting the world as it was and tried to manoeuvre to maximise to our advantage. Chok Tong in a way also accept that fact but would be friends to everyone that is friendly, but slightly aligned to the West. But he still did not dare to think he could change the world to like Singapore.

What is Hsien Loong's position? Upholding international law is a very forceful statement. Singapore now wants to uphold international law, not accepting it as a price taker. Singapore would not accept might is right. Another very powerful statement, meaning Singapore would stand up to it or something like that. Don't push Singapore, we would not allow it.

So, how to fight might is right? Singapore would depend on words and treaties, or military alliances I supposed? Correct me if I did not get this right. The basic position, Singapore would not take things lying down. Singapore will fight for its rights and its principles. You have heard it.

My conclusion, among the 3 PMs, LKY is the weakest. Chok Tong tried to take a firmer middle path. Hsien Loong no doubt is the strongest of the three PMs. He is confident to take on the world, take on any superpowers, to uphold international law and principles. And he would align himself with treaties, no more neutrality or not aligning with any super powers.

Singapore finally has a very strong PM, a strong leader to take on the world, to fight and defend its interests and principles. Singaporeans should be very proud of Hsien Loong, for having the guts to stand up to any country, big or small, on grounds of international laws and principles. His father and Chok Tong both did not have the wherewithal to stand up to big powers. Now you are seeing the real powerful Singapore punching above its weight. Go back and read the news and the comments by our diplomats and you will see how firm and steady they are in defending the interests of small states, defending international laws and principles against unprincipled countries that don't respect international laws.

Singapore has arrived, and Hsien Loong is the One. The strongest of the 3 PMs we have so far. He is now a more powerful statesman than LKY and Chok Tong. Singaporeans got something new to be proud of. Singapore is now an international player that would take a stand, not just a little red dot trying to walk the tight rope. You can expect our diplomats to go around thumping their chests be it China, Russia or regional powers like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand or the Philippines to uphold international laws, freedom of navigation and to protect Asean unity.