Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong warns of US-China ‘mishap’ over Taiwan

Name: Xi Jinping and Joe Biden call for mutual respect and peaceful China-US coexistence
Uploaded: 2021-11-17T23:00:14.000Z
Duration: 2 min 25 s
Description: Xi Jinping and Joe Biden call for mutual respect and peaceful China-US coexistence

The prime minister said heightened tensions were unlikely to lead to ‘war overnight’, but a ‘miscalculation’ over the island could still occur

Lee also spoke about Covid-19 in Singapore, the situation in Hong Kong, and the ‘Squid Game’ to succeed him as the Southeast Asian country’s leader

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Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister, speaks during an interview at the Bloomberg New Economy Gala Dinner in Singapore on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg

Bhavan Jaipragasin SingaporeandDewey Simin Singapore

Published: 7:00am, 18 Nov 2021Updated: 11:21pm, 18 Nov 2021

Heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait are unlikely to lead to “war overnight” but are in a state where a “mishap or miscalculation” could occur, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned on Wednesday.

Lee’s remarks at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum come amid renewed focus on the Taiwan issue, which headlined Monday’s virtual meeting between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.

“I think we should be concerned,” Lee said in an extensive interview with Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief John Micklethwait during a gala dinner at the forum.

The 69-year-old fielded a range of questions in the 45-minute session, over regional trade, carbon and wealth taxation, the Covid-19 situation in Singapore, as well as his now-delayed plan to retire and hand power to a successor within his ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

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Xi Jinping and Joe Biden call for mutual respect and peaceful China-US coexistence

“I don’t think it’s going to war overnight, but this is a situation where you can have a mishap or miscalculation and be in a very delicate situation,” the veteran Singaporean leader said when asked if he was worried about the state of cross-strait ties.