https://www.scmp.com/rss/323651/feed Dispute between China and Singapore over impounding of military vehicles in Hong Kong en route from Taiwan. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The October 3, 1990, signing ceremony that formalised diplomatic ties between China and Singapore, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, was a brief, low-key affair – but the lack of pomp belied its epochal nature. The next day, Singapore’s The Straits Times underscored just how important the event was for the island republic with the headline “China ties come after long period of gestation”. According to the national daily’s account, the short ceremony saw China’s then... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3103994/singapore-china-relations-30-years-can-4g-leaders-hold-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3103994/singapore-china-relations-30-years-can-4g-leaders-hold-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Oct 2020 04:30:10 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said China would work with Singapore to “overcome distractions” to safeguard regional stability, in remarks some experts interpreted as a subtle “reminder” not to take sides as Washington and Beijing spar over the South China Sea and other issues ranging from trade to technology to human rights. The remarks, made to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a phone call, came a day after Washington rejected Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3093313/xis-call-singapore-subtle-reminder-about-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3093313/xis-call-singapore-subtle-reminder-about-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 11:30:16 +0000 When the then Chinese strongman Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore in 1978, he was so impressed with its social discipline and order that on returning to China he instructed his own officials to look to the Lion City for inspiration. Singapore has since become Beijing’s top overseas training ground, with more than 50,000 Chinese officials and cadres having flocked to the city on study trips and training programmes since the mid-1990s, according to Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry. But enrolment... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3042046/does-china-still-have-anything-learn-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3042046/does-china-still-have-anything-learn-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2019 02:00:10 +0000 Top officials from Suzhou visiting Singapore this week have lauded a joint industrial project in the eastern Chinese city as a model for China’s economic cooperation with other countries. Lan Shaomin, Suzhou’s freshly appointed Communist Party secretary, said the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was an “important window” for China as it opened up to the world. The park was the brainchild of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and illustrated the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3040654/suzhou-joint-industrial-park-hailed-singapore-steps-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3040654/suzhou-joint-industrial-park-hailed-singapore-steps-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:00:25 +0000 The wife of Taiwanese presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu has cancelled a trip to Singapore over “security concerns” and the ban on “foreign political activities” in the city state. Lee Chia-fen, who is currently in Malaysia, has visited several Asian countries including Japan, Cambodia and Indonesia to drum up support for Han ahead of his election showdown with President Tsai Ing-wen in January. The campaign office for Han, who represents the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, said on Monday that it... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3039470/wife-taiwan-presidential-hopeful-han-kuo-yu-scraps-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3039470/wife-taiwan-presidential-hopeful-han-kuo-yu-scraps-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2019 14:09:56 +0000 Singapore’s appointment of a former cabinet minister as its next ambassador to China adds significant weight to the city state’s efforts to show Beijing that ties with the increasingly assertive Asian superpower are a key priority, analysts in the Lion City have said. Lui Tuck Yew, a former navy chief turned top bureaucrat who joined the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in 2006 and served as transport minister from 2011 to 2015, was made the country’s next ambassador in Beijing on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3035997/what-singapores-new-ambassador-lui-tuck-yew-means-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3035997/what-singapores-new-ambassador-lui-tuck-yew-means-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Nov 2019 23:00:10 +0000 Singapore and China have agreed to a “substantial programme” to deepen military ties after a Wednesday meeting between the two countries’ defence chiefs. Among the proposed enhancements to an existing defence cooperation agreement is a second bilateral naval drill to be held next year, after the countries held a similar drill in 2015. These exercises are significant given few other Southeast Asian countries – especially those maintaining strong security ties with the US, such as Singapore –... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3012341/singapore-china-deepen-defence-ties-plan-larger-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3012341/singapore-china-deepen-defence-ties-plan-larger-military?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2019 13:53:50 +0000 A leading shipping agent and a Chinese captain were on Monday fined a total of HK$99,000 (US$12,600) and the latter given a suspended jail term for bringing nine Singaporean military vehicles into Hong Kong without a proper licence nearly three years ago. APL was ordered to pay HK$90,000 and shipmaster Pan Xuejun HK$9,000 after they were convicted at the District Court of breaching Hong Kong’s Import and Export Ordinance. Pan was also handed a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 18... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3008068/shipping-firm-apl-and-mainland-chinese-captain-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3008068/shipping-firm-apl-and-mainland-chinese-captain-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2019 05:00:33 +0000 Next week’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore represents the latest notch in the Lion City’s soft power belt in a year full of public relations triumphs. The summit will bring together the leaders of the 10 Asean countries and guests including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and US Vice-President Mike Pence, yet even so, it will not be the most high-profile event the city state has hosted this year. That honour goes to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2172554/trump-and-kim-crazy-rich-asians-and-asean-singapores-riding-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2172554/trump-and-kim-crazy-rich-asians-and-asean-singapores-riding-high?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Nov 2018 05:01:01 +0000 A batch of Singaporean armoured personnel carriers worth more than HK$136 million (US$17.3 million) were allegedly labelled as civilian vehicles and shipped via Hong Kong to the Lion City without the proper licence, a court heard on Thursday. Setting out their case against shipping company APL, and captain Pan Xuejun, on the first day of the criminal trial, prosecutors also described how Hong Kong customs officers came to discover the nine Terrex troop carriers in the city in 2016. The trial at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2168156/singapore-troop-carriers-seized-hong-kong-were-labelled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2168156/singapore-troop-carriers-seized-hong-kong-were-labelled?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Oct 2018 10:59:13 +0000 China and Singapore have pledged to step up military exchanges, including joint anti-terrorism and naval drills, in the latest sign of improved ties between the two countries. Rear Admiral Jiang Guoping, an assistant to the People’s Liberation Army’s chief of the Joint Staff Department, said on Monday that China was willing to further strengthen cooperation with Singapore on areas such as joint anti-terrorism and naval exercises, and personnel training, according to a statement on the defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2124049/china-singapore-vow-boost-military-exchanges-latest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2124049/china-singapore-vow-boost-military-exchanges-latest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:45:30 +0000 The defence’s attempt to quash the Hong Kong government’s case against a shipmaster and shipping firm accused of illegally importing nine Singaporean military vehicles into Hong Kong last year was rebuffed by prosecutors on Monday, at a preliminary hearing. Defence counsel Joseph Tse Wah-yuen SC had earlier asked the District Court to offer a correct interpretation of a stipulation in the city’s Import and Export Ordinance, that the Department of Justice accused his clients of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2123853/hong-kong-court-has-no-authority-determine-if-charge-terrex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2123853/hong-kong-court-has-no-authority-determine-if-charge-terrex?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2017 10:00:45 +0000 Taiwan said on Monday that it had been assured by Singapore that a long-term military agreement between the two sides would remain in place. “[Singapore said] everything would be the same as usual,” Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lee said in reference to Project Starlight, a deal signed more than 40 years ago that involves Singaporean troops travelling to Taiwan for military training and joint exercises. His comments came amid speculation that improving relations between China and Singapore... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2113687/singapore-assures-taiwan-military-training-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2113687/singapore-assures-taiwan-military-training-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2017 10:15:45 +0000 Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to China this week was widely seen as a sign that relations, strained in large part by differences over the South China Sea, are back on track. However, despite the show of goodwill during Lee’s visit, the geopolitical conditions that underpinned the once warm and long-standing friendship between Beijing and the city state – something rarely seen in the region – have changed forever. Fraternal relations were built from two fundamental moments:... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2112464/ignore-show-lee-hsien-loong-singapore-and-china-are-still-odds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2112464/ignore-show-lee-hsien-loong-singapore-and-china-are-still-odds?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Sep 2017 02:32:14 +0000 The visit of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to China could result in a decades-long military training programme between the city state and Taiwan – long a thorn in Beijing’s side – being put on hold, according to military observers and people familiar with the matter. The Starlight project was established in 1975 in a deal between Singapore’s late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Taiwan’s then Premier Chiang Ching-kuo. Given the city state’s limited land and airspace, the pair reached... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2112278/could-improved-ties-between-singapore-and-beijing-bring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2112278/could-improved-ties-between-singapore-and-beijing-bring?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:30:15 +0000 Hong Kong courts should clarify the extent of a shipping carrier’s responsibility when it comes to transporting strategic commodities, according to lawyers defending the shipmaster and shipping company charged over the nine Singaporean military vehicles temporarily detained in the city last year. Their concern prompted the District Court to schedule a three-day preliminary hearing starting on December 11 as prosecutors also agreed that there was a need to clarify multiple legal issues before... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2104031/debate-import-laws-terrex-trial-could-have-major?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2104031/debate-import-laws-terrex-trial-could-have-major?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jul 2017 08:30:45 +0000 Hong Kong’s new top official is planning to make Singapore her first official international trip, the Post has learned. It was understood that Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s planned visit to the Lion City, viewed by many as Hong Kong’s sharpest competitor in the region, would be aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation. The itinerary is still being worked out. A spokesman for the Singapore consulate in Hong Kong was not immediately available for comment. Singapore is falling behind Hong Kong, just do... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2101416/carrie-lam-make-singapore-her-first-official-international?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2101416/carrie-lam-make-singapore-her-first-official-international?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:30:00 +0000 The case against a shipmaster and a shipping firm accused of illegally importing nine Singaporean military vehicles hit a snag on Tuesday after defence lawyers challenged prosecutors to prove both parties had agreed to do so without the required licence. Mainland shipmaster Pan Xuejun, 39, and shipping company APL were originally brought to court separately after customs officers impounded nine Terrex armoured troop carriers on November 23 last year. But their cases were consolidated into one... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2097118/prove-defendants-had-agreement-import-singapore-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2097118/prove-defendants-had-agreement-import-singapore-military?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:00:45 +0000 This is an edited excerpt of Teo Chee Hean’s speech at the 20th anniversary celebrations of the city state’s East Asian Institute on Wednesday I first visited China in 1984 and have had the opportunity to observe China’s transformation over many trips, interactions and exchanges. Most recently, over the past three months, I co-chaired two of our three main bilateral mechanisms with senior Chinese leaders. The 13th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Beijing, which I co-chaired with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2095521/chinas-new-silk-road-meeting-successful-says-singapores-deputy-pm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2095521/chinas-new-silk-road-meeting-successful-says-singapores-deputy-pm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2017 09:00:00 +0000 A ship master and a shipping company charged over the nine Singaporean military vehicles temporarily detained in Hong Kong last year had their case moved on Friday to a higher court, opening the possibility of harsher sentences for the accused. The transfer to the District Court from West Kowloon Court came after Acting Principal Magistrate So Wai-tak ordered their separate cases to be merged into one, at the prosecutors’ request. The case was adjourned to June 6 for plea at the District Court... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2094921/singapore-military-vehicles-case-moved-district-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2094921/singapore-military-vehicles-case-moved-district-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 May 2017 04:00:00 +0000 Singapore declared its commitment to “strong bilateral cooperation” with Hong Kong during a visit by the city state’s deputy prime minister, and following a high-profile spat involving the seizure of armoured military vehicles. Teo Chee Hean, also Singapore’s coordinating minister for national security, arrived in the city on Tuesday and attended a reception hosted by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at Government House. He was scheduled to meet former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa on Wednesday,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2088804/singapore-deputy-pms-hong-kong-visit-reaffirms-long-standing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2088804/singapore-deputy-pms-hong-kong-visit-reaffirms-long-standing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Apr 2017 04:00:00 +0000 The captain of the container ship that transported nine Singapore military vehicles to Hong Kong from Taiwan in November was formally charged on Friday morning. In his first court appearance, mainland ship master Pan Xuejun, 39, was charged with one count of importing strategic commodities without the necessary licence. Prosecutors alleged that Pan’s vessel carried into Hong Kong nine vehicles designed or modified for military use under a sea waybill, but did not have an import licence issued by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2081773/shipping-company-and-captain-front-hong-kong-court-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2081773/shipping-company-and-captain-front-hong-kong-court-over?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2017 02:15:45 +0000 Hong Kong customs is set to press chargesagainst the shipping company and the captain of the container ship which transported nine Singapore military vehicles into the city from Taiwan in November without a required licence. Shipping company APL is expected to be issued with a summons while the captain of the container ship is to be charged with importing strategic commodities without a required licence, according to a government source with knowledge of the case. A spokesman for the customs... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2081209/hong-kong-customs-charges-shipping-company-and-captain-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2081209/hong-kong-customs-charges-shipping-company-and-captain-over?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Mar 2017 10:30:30 +0000 Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Hong Kong’s decision in January to return nine armoured vehicles it seized in transit from Taiwan months earlier was a “satisfactory outcome” to the diplomatic rift it caused between the Lion City and China. Lee’s comments in a BBC HardTalk interview that aired Wednesday were the first time a leader from either country had openly acknowledged that the seizure was a matter between Singapore and the central government in Beijing. Singaporean,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2075139/satisfactory-outcome-singapores-pm-hong-kongs-seizure-military-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2075139/satisfactory-outcome-singapores-pm-hong-kongs-seizure-military-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Mar 2017 09:30:15 +0000 In a clear sign that China and Singapore are back on an even keel after a series of diplomatic spats, senior officials from both sides signed a number of major agreements on Monday. The agreements on a range of issues, including intellectual property rights and a US$1.4 billion project aimed at boosting transport links between Chongqing and Southeast Asia, were signed after a meeting chaired by China’s Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. Relations... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2074648/china-singapore-sign-raft-agreements-amid-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2074648/china-singapore-sign-raft-agreements-amid-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2017 02:00:45 +0000 As news of Hong Kong’s decision to return Singapore’s confiscated Terrex armoured vehicles went viral on social media, at least two netizens have taken to writing songs to mark the latest development. Popular Singaporean blogger Lee Kin Mun, better known as mrbrown, produced his music video Terrex Come! in under an hour and uploaded it at about 10.30pm on Tuesday night, some four hours after the news first broke. Alvin Oon, who wrote an earlier song on the Terrex seizure that became an online... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2065695/give-me-back-my-terrex-how-hong-kong-saga-inspired-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2065695/give-me-back-my-terrex-how-hong-kong-saga-inspired-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2017 02:00:00 +0000 Nine Singaporean military vehicles confiscated in Hong Kong more than two months ago left customs’ cargo examination compound in Tuen Mun early on Friday before being shipped back to the Lion City. At about midnight Friday, the Terrex vehicles were carried away from the River Trade Terminal to a container terminal in Kwai Chung for shipment to Singapore. And on Friday morning, Singaporean defence minister Ng Eng Hen posted on Facebook: “Our Terrexes left Hong Kong port this morning at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2065727/confiscated-troop-carriers-moved-out-hong-kong-compound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2065727/confiscated-troop-carriers-moved-out-hong-kong-compound?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jan 2017 08:38:13 +0000 I felt like I had stepped into the twilight zone this week when Hong Kong’s customs chief categorically denied that Beijing had any hand in the seizure of the Singaporean military’s precious armoured vehicles. The nine Terrex troop carriers were impounded in transit two months ago at a container terminal – as they were being shipped back to Singapore following a joint military exercise in Taiwan. Hong Kong to return seized armoured vehicles to Singapore This sort of exchange between the city... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2065671/tell-me-another-alternative-facts-about-return-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2065671/tell-me-another-alternative-facts-about-return-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jan 2017 06:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s customs chief has categorically denied Beijing’s hand was behind the seizure of nine Singaporean military vehicles that are due to be returned to the Lion City after two months of diplomatic wrangling that plunged Sino-Singapore relations to a new low. He also claimed on Wednesday that the Singapore government had never been a target for investigation since the Terrex armoured troop carriers were intercepted at Kwai Chung Container Terminals on November 23 on their way home from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2065408/singapore-government-will-not-be-investigated-over-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2065408/singapore-government-will-not-be-investigated-over-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jan 2017 10:30:15 +0000 Military exchanges between Taiwan and Singapore are likely to fall over time, but this is more due to the city-state needing more training areas overseas provided by other allies than pressure from China, according to analysts. Hong Kong’s decision to return to Singapore nine armoured troop carriers seized in November has once again put the spotlight on the city-state’s long-established but low-key military ties with Taiwan. The armoured vehicles had taken part in a military training exercise on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2065319/singapore-taiwan-defence-ties-fall-over-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2065319/singapore-taiwan-defence-ties-fall-over-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jan 2017 06:15:30 +0000 Hong Kong has agreed to return nine Singaporean armoured vehicles that it seized in transit from Taiwan two months ago, but is likely to prosecute the shipping company responsible. The return of the Singapore military’s Terrex troop carriers signals an end to the diplomatic row that has left relations between Beijing and the city state at a low point. Hong Kong customs announced yesterday that the shipment of the military vehicles would be returned to the Lion City following the completion of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2065027/hong-kong-return-singapores-seized-armoured-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2065027/hong-kong-return-singapores-seized-armoured-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:15:30 +0000 Singapore and China, at odds over the prolonged detention of the city state’s armoured vehicles in Hong Kong, may find themselves clawing out of their diplomatic low point early on in the Year of the Rooster, analysts say, after the two countries announced that high-level talks would be held in February. Foreign policy experts say bilateral ties look likely to thaw sooner rather than later after Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin’s ( 劉振民 ) visit to the island republic this week for a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2063656/are-china-singapore-relations-about-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2063656/are-china-singapore-relations-about-thaw?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jan 2017 09:00:00 +0000 Ministers from China and Singapore have agreed to go ahead with annual high-level talks next month, but Beijing said the dialogue would not cover the impounding of the city state’s military vehicles in Hong Kong. Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin met Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Chee Wee Kiong, in Singapore on Tuesday, the first meeting between senior officials of the two nations since the seizure of the nine troop carriers in November, Xinhua reported. The officials... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2063126/china-singapore-hold-first-high-level-talks-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2063126/china-singapore-hold-first-high-level-talks-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jan 2017 04:30:15 +0000 With no immediate end in sight to the impasse over the seizure of Singapore’s military vehicles in Hong Kong, and amid rising flak from Beijing, the city state’s long-time leaders – reputed for an adroit diplomatic touch – are finding themselves in the unfamiliar position of justifying their foreign policy to citizens at home. In power since 1959, the People’s Action Party has traditionally faced little domestic dissent over its foreign policy of embracing all major powers regardless of ideology... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2062026/can-singapore-keep-its-foreign-policy-balancing-act-after-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2062026/can-singapore-keep-its-foreign-policy-balancing-act-after-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jan 2017 02:00:00 +0000 Sino-Singaporean relations have been on a sharp downward trend since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ( 習近平 ) visit to the city state in 2015. The tiny republic’s stand on the South China Sea dispute and its close ­relationship with the West, in particular the United States, have caused China to single it out for some stern criticism. One Chinese general called for sanctions on Singapore and the Global Times ranted that Beijing should take tough action on Singapore “when it crosses the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2061493/why-singapore-should-not-be-surprised-relations-china-have?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2061493/why-singapore-should-not-be-surprised-relations-china-have?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:15:15 +0000 Beijing on Monday warned Singapore to be careful about its “remarks and actions” as the island nation said it had written to Hong Kong’s leader asking for the return of a batch of armoured personnel carriers “taken hostage” en route from Taiwan. Responding to media inquiries, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s office said Hong Kong customs was the authority tasked with investigating the matter. It also confirmed receipt of the letter from Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Why Singapore... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2060557/military-vehicles-seizure-be-sorted-under-hong-kong-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2060557/military-vehicles-seizure-be-sorted-under-hong-kong-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2017 08:45:45 +0000 Beijing has called on Singapore to be cautious in its handling of the seizure of nine of its military vehicles in Hong Kong. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday that the Hong Kong government was handling the incident in accordance with the law, after Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the detention of the vehicles did not comply with international law. “I hope the relevant parties can be cautious in their remarks and actions,” Lu said. “I want to stress that China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2060547/beijing-urges-caution-handling-singapores-seized?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2060547/beijing-urges-caution-handling-singapores-seized?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2017 08:00:45 +0000 Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department has moved to quash speculation that nine military vehicles from Singapore detained in the city since November have been returned. The department made the rebuttal after Apple Daily said in a report that the vehicles, which had been detained in the outdoor storage yard of a Tuen Mun storage facility for weeks, were missing since Monday. The department stressed that the vehicles were still being kept in Hong Kong. Video explainer: What’s going on with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2058871/singapore-military-vehicles-still-detained-says-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2058871/singapore-military-vehicles-still-detained-says-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2017 05:00:15 +0000 The Singapore military had learned a lesson from the seizure of its armoured vehicles by the Hong Kong authorities and had changed its practices to protect its assets, the country’s defence minister said on Friday in a Facebook post. In the post, titled 2016 – A Look Back, Ng Eng Hen described the episode as “a low point in 2016 from the defence perspective”. “The [Singapore armed forces] will learn from this episode and has already changed its practices to better protect our assets,” Ng said,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2058258/hong-kong-seizure-armoured-vehicles-has-taught-us-lesson-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2058258/hong-kong-seizure-armoured-vehicles-has-taught-us-lesson-singapores?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Dec 2016 12:30:30 +0000 Singapore has reiterated its call for the release of nine armoured military vehicles that have been held by Hong Kong customs for a month. On Friday night the Lion City’s Ministry of Defence issued its sixth statement on the issue, saying the country was still waiting for a full explanation about the impounding of the armoured troop carriers. Video explainer: What’s going on with the Singaporean military vehicles seized in Hong Kong “Over the past three weeks, the Singapore Government has... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2056945/singapore-issues-sixth-call-hong-kong-return-nine-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2056945/singapore-issues-sixth-call-hong-kong-return-nine-military?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Dec 2016 13:45:00 +0000 China and the US have settled the seizure of a maritime drone, but Beijing’s wrangle with Singapore over troop carriers held by Hong Kong drags on. The Chinese ministry of defence said on Monday there was no progress to report. Hong Kong customs discovered the “Terrex” infantry carrier vehicles aboard a civilian cargo ship going from Taiwan to Singapore on November 23 and impounded them. No formal reason has been given, but sources have said the shipping company lacked the required permits. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2056134/us-gets-drone-back-singapore-still-waiting-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2056134/us-gets-drone-back-singapore-still-waiting-armoured?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:15:30 +0000 Beijing reiterated its call for Singapore to respect the one-China policy and abide by Hong Kong law on Wednesday, to help properly resolve the controversy over the impounding of the city state’s armoured vehicles. Analysts said that the remarks by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reflected Beijing’s frustration over Singapore’s handling of its ties with Taiwan, and the fact that the two nations still had unsettled issues. Singapore’s Ministry of Defence repeated on Tuesday that it had... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2052675/singapore-must-abide-hong-kong-laws-impounded-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2052675/singapore-must-abide-hong-kong-laws-impounded-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:45:15 +0000 Singapore’s Ministry of Defence repeated on Tuesday that it had yet to receive a formal explanation about the seizure of nine of its armoured troop carriers by Hong Kong customs. The update from the city state’s defence ministry came as shipping company APL and Hong Kong customs had a six-hour meeting on Tuesday. It was the third meeting between the two sides since the vehicles and associated component parts were confiscated by local customs officers at the Kwai Chung container terminal on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2052342/two-weeks-hong-kong-still-hasnt-told-us-why-it-seized-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2052342/two-weeks-hong-kong-still-hasnt-told-us-why-it-seized-our?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:00:30 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/2050764/long-stopover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/2050764/long-stopover?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Dec 2016 03:30:45 +0000 Good relations with Beijing require governments to recognise the principle that there is only one China. A nation with diplomatic ties cannot have official contacts with Taiwan. Singapore’s training of its military on the island ignores that deal. Amid so much regional tension and global uncertainty, seeking alternative arrangements makes sense. Nine armoured vehicles found by Hong Kong customs officers on a ship that had been travelling from Taiwan to Singapore threaten to cause a diplomatic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2050920/sovereignty-there-can-be-no-compromise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2050920/sovereignty-there-can-be-no-compromise?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:30:30 +0000 The discovery of nine, allegedly undeclared, armoured combat vehicles belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) set off a diplomatic storm as soon as it was revealed that the military machines were returning from regular exercises that the SAF conduct in Taiwan. Singapore authorities appear to be genuinely surprised and confused as stops like this has been a routine matter in the past. The question ultimately boils down to, “Why now?” The answer is that, while Beijing has always known about... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2050723/beijing-seizure-singapore-armoured-vehicles-low-risk-shot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2050723/beijing-seizure-singapore-armoured-vehicles-low-risk-shot?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:10:25 +0000 More than a week after a shipment of armoured troop carriers belonging to Singapore was impounded by Hong Kong customs, the city state’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday it had yet to be given a formal explanation as to why the military vehicles were seized in the first place. The defence ministry also noted that Hong Kong customs officials hoped to complete their investigation soon, amid escalating diplomatic tensions between China and Singapore. Customs and Excise Department officials met... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2050806/no-formal-reasons-yet-seizure-military-vehicles-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2050806/no-formal-reasons-yet-seizure-military-vehicles-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Dec 2016 07:48:50 +0000 The manufacturer of the military vehicles that Hong Kong customs has impounded says the stand-off between Beijing and Singapore won’t affect its deal with the US military. The US Marine Corps has commissioned the developer and manufacturer of the Terrex series military vehicles – Singapore Technologies (ST) Kinetics and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) – to supply 13 units this year for testing, in a contract worth US$121.5 million. Singapore military carriers left off cargo... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2050555/maker-seized-military-vehicles-hong-kong-confident-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2050555/maker-seized-military-vehicles-hong-kong-confident-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:01:06 +0000 A shipment of Singaporean armoured troop carriers impounded by local authorities last week may have broken more local laws than initially thought. The Post understands the nine Terrex armoured infantry carriers and components found in 12 containers en route from Taiwan to Singapore without appropriate permits, were also not “specifically” declared in the cargo manifest. Importing unmanifested cargo is a violation of Hong Kong’s Import and Export Ordinance and carries a maximum penalty of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2050521/singapore-military-carriers-left-cargo-manifest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2050521/singapore-military-carriers-left-cargo-manifest?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:45:00 +0000 The seizure in Hong Kong of nine armoured ­personnel carriers ­belonging to Singapore that were part of a military exercise in ­Taiwan is being used as a ploy by Beijing to isolate and put more political pressure on the island’s president, according to analysts. The move by Beijing is also a warning to Singapore over its military cooperation with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province, they said, and could make other countries in the region more wary in following in the city... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2050175/china-using-seized-armoured-vehicles-row-ramp-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2050175/china-using-seized-armoured-vehicles-row-ramp-political?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Nov 2016 23:00:00 +0000