As a small state, should Singapore hide when ‘elephants’ fight?

Is Qatar’s ongoing rift with its larger Arab neighbours a lesson in why small states should always act their size, and avoid stare downs with major powers when possible?

One former top Singaporean diplomat said as much in a commentary piece on Saturday, and promptly found himself chastised by his high placed peers in the Lion City’s vaunted diplomatic mix.

Singapore – a city state smaller than New York City – prides itself for an adroit foreign policy which has seen it cultivate strong ties with all major powers, from the United States, China and other G7 nations. Its pragmatic “maximum number of friends” approach was first championed by the late independence leader Lee Kuan Yew as a bulwark for small states.

Despite being the leader of a tiny island republic, the senior Lee, father of current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, was known to have been extensively consulted by world leaders on world affairs well into his twilight years. He died aged 91 in 2015 after a political career spanning six decades that included 31 years as premier.

But in a commentary for the Straits Times newspaper on Saturday, Kishore Mahbubani suggested Doha’s troubles show that “small states must always behave like small states”.