Singapore’s non-invite to Biden’s democracy summit ‘not a judgment’: US diplomat Daniel Kritenbrink

City state is not among 100-plus invitees, but that’s ‘not a commentary’ on ‘our partnership’: Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Kritenbrink, on regional tour, says US will respond appropriately to Beijing’s ‘coercion’ towards Taiwan and ‘all options on the table’ for sanctions on Myanmar

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US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:10pm, 2 Dec 2021Updated: 7:54pm, 2 Dec 2021

The upcoming democracy summit that US President Joe Biden will host is not intended for participants to “sit in judgment” of nations that are not invited, and the omission of the likes of Singapore from the forum is not an indictment of bilateral ties with Washington, a senior US diplomat has said.

Speaking to regional journalists in Singapore, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said the summit was instead an opportunity for a “select number” of the world’s democracies to exchange views on how such societies could better deliver benefits to citizens and promote democracy.

“This is not designed to be a forum in which we sit in judgment of other countries,” Kritenbrink said, responding to a question on why Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were among the regional countries omitted from the December 9-10 event.

The event – to be held virtually – has been touted as the first of its kind, and will feature governments from more than 100 countries. The summit has attracted controversy in recent weeks after the Biden administration invited representatives from self-ruled Taiwan, drawing a sharp reaction from Beijing.

“Given that only a number of countries were invited, there are a range of countries including some of our closest partners like Singapore, who were not invited. But that is not a commentary on the strength of our partnership with Singapore,” Kritenbrink said.

Kritenbrink, a career diplomat who was Washington’s envoy in Vietnam from 2017 until April this year, is in Singapore as part of a four-nation Southeast Asia tour that includes stops in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

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