Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan worries US-China tension may ‘spiral’ into war

Balakrishnan says he doesn’t believe the two nations ‘are setting out to wage war on each other, but I do worry there is a very real risk’

He told The Straits Times the worsening relationship between Washington and Beijing reminded him of what transpired before WWI

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Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan during the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Cambodia this month. He says he is worried about rising US-China tension spiralling out of control. Photo: AP

Published: 7:40pm, 26 Aug 2022Updated: 8:27pm, 26 Aug 2022

Singapore is concerned that the United States and China could be locked in an “escalatory spiral” of countermeasures that would lead to eventual war, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday, in the latest indication that superpower tensions are weighing heavily on the minds of the region’s governments.

There are some hopes that the tension could ease by the end of the year, as observers expect President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden to hold their first-ever in-person summit.

Asked about the state of US-China ties in an interview with The Straits Times, Balakrishnan suggested that things have not been moving in the right direction and that the risk of a mishap or miscalculation was rising.

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during an Asean meeting in Cambodia on August 5. Photo: Reuters

“I do not believe any one of them are actually setting out to wage war on each other, but I do worry there is a very real risk,” he said.

“Each party unilaterally deciding what its national interests are and what its response or counter response to the other party will be may inadvertently set itself up for an escalatory spiral.”

Balakrishnan said the worsening relations between Washington and Beijing reminded him of what transpired before World War I. He pointed out that the major powers then had not intended for war but a “series of steps, incidents, mishaps and this locked-in spiral led to a terrible situation”.

“That’s why I remain so concerned about the prospects of global peace,” he cautioned. “The world has entered a very dangerous phase.”

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Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan worries US-China tension may ‘spiral’ into war

Balakrishnan says he doesn’t believe the two nations ‘are setting out to wage war on each other, but I do worry there is a very real risk’ He told The Straits Times the worsening relationship between Washington and Beijing reminded him of what transpired before WWI

Balakrishnan says he doesn’t believe the two nations ‘are setting out to wage war on each other, but I do worry there is a very real risk’

He told The Straits Times the worsening relationship between Washington and Beijing reminded him of what transpired before WWI