US, China risk ‘sleepwalking into conflict’, Singapore’s Lawrence Wong warns

The city state’s prime minister-in-waiting said the relationship between the world’s biggest economies was on a ‘very worrying’ trajectory

He called for both countries’ leaderships to engage each other and de-escalate Taiwan tensions to avoid ‘near-misses, accidents and miscalculations’

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Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s prime minister-in-waiting. “No one deliberately wants to go into battle, but we sleepwalk into conflict … that’s the biggest problem and danger,” he said of rising US-China tensions. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:36am, 16 Aug 2022Updated: 8:37am, 16 Aug 2022

Singapore’s prime minister-in-waiting Lawrence Wong warned that the United States and China may “sleepwalk into conflict” if they don’t engage with each other and de-escalate rising tensions over Taiwan.

In an interview on Monday with Bloomberg, Wong said the relationship between the world’s biggest economies was on a “very worrying” trajectory in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and China’s subsequent military drills around the island.

“We are starting to see a series of decisions being taken by both countries that will lead us into more and more dangerous territory,” Wong, now serving as deputy prime minister and finance minister, said at the Finance Ministry office overlooking the central business district.

A missile is launched by the Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command rocket force from an undisclosed location near Taiwan following Nancy Pelosi’s visit earlier this month. Photo: Xinhua

“As they say, no one deliberately wants to go into battle, but we sleepwalk into conflict,” he added. “And that’s the biggest problem and danger.”

Wong expressed concern about a potential accident in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea, citing a 2001 incident when an American spy plane made an emergency landing on China’s southern Hainan Island after colliding with a Chinese jet. Beijing eventually released the crew after the US expressed regret.

“We worry about these sorts of near-misses and accidents and miscalculations, and we certainly hope that the leadership on both sides can continue to engage one another, especially at the highest level,” he said. “And that sensible and rational decisions can be made to prevent things from worsening or deteriorating further.”

Singapore has been one of the most vocal countries in Asia calling for the US and China to avoid a destructive clash that could quickly start to hit smaller countries in the region. A city state dependent on trade, Singapore supports a strong American presence in Asia by allowing the US to access military facilities while also counting China as its top trading partner.