Taiwan can learn from Singapore to deal with Beijing and US, former diplomat says
- Ex-foreign minister Jason Hu says self-ruled island should maintain peaceful engagement with mainland while edging closer to Washington
- Taipei should take note of how ‘bat-like’ Singapore protects its interests
Taiwan should study Singapore’s strategies when it comes to defending its interests and dealing with Beijing and Washington, a former top Taiwanese diplomat said on the sidelines of Asia’s biggest security forum.
“This has been achieved through Taipei’s own efforts [over the past two decades] without US involvement, and it may have surprised the Americans because they didn’t expect the possibility of a war over the Taiwan Strait could be so low today.”
But Hu said Taiwan’s value had been downgraded in Beijing’s eyes amid the growing rivalry between China and the United States.
“In the politics of big powers, small countries will never be a protagonist … in the eyes of the Americans, Taiwan is the same as Pacific island countries like the Marshall Islands and Palau,” he said.