The South
China Sea dispute has led to the often quipped terms in the lips of the
protagonists like Trojan Horses and Little USAs. Both terms are unique in their
origins, from Singapore or by Singaporeans. You don’t hear them being repeated
by leaders, diplomats or analysts from other Asean countries, not even from the
USA. And the way the terms were used, especially Trojan Horses, came with very
strong negative connotations.
What about
the term Little USAs, are there any negative connotations? It depends on where
the person using it is coming from. This term first appeared in an article by
Simon Tay. He put it politely and tried not to ruffle feathers knowing where
the sensitivity is.
What does
the term Trojan Horses mean? No
guessing, it means exactly in the same way as the Trojan Horse of Troy. It
means those countries in Asean that were labeled as Trojan Horses of China were
the agents of China and out to protect China’s interest in the South China Sea and
to harm Asean.
What about
Little USAs? Actually Little USAs and Trojan Horses are terms that meant the
same thing and doing the same thing, serving their masters and working to
protect the interests of their masters. If one is ugly, the other is just as
hideous.
The Trojan
Horses have been named as Laos and Cambodia. What about the Little USAs, who
are they or which countries are the Little USAs or Trojan Horses of the USA? A
clue, not the Philippines, not Vietnam. They are open in opposing China and
siding with the USA.
While there
will be Little USAs versus Trojan Horses to support their masters, Singapore’s
relations with China is on the mend with Hsien Loong and Xi Jinping saying that
there might be differences but these should not be allowed to affect the strong
bilateral ties. So, would Singapore’s civil servants still be allowed to accuse
China of trying to divide and rule Asean? Or would they be allowed to call
China’s friends Trojan Horses? If these
would continue, then Singapore is really punching above its weight, a class of
its own, and China just got to accept it and take the bollocking as sign of
strong bilateral relations.