US and China have ‘irreconcilable differences’ but there’s hope they can coexist: Singapore’s Lawrence Wong

Name: China’s military simulates precision strikes on Taiwan after island’s leader returns from US visit
Uploaded: 2023-05-25T11:21:18.000Z
Duration: 4 min 17 s
Description: China’s military simulates precision strikes on Taiwan after island’s leader returns from US visit

The city state’s No 2 leader made the remarks at a speech in Tokyo, where he said the Taiwan situation was getting ‘more dangerous’ amid the US-China rivalry

He also cautioned countries against taking ‘de-risking too far’, saying it would over time lead to a more fragmented global economy

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Singapore’s Deputy PM Lawrence Wong says the risks of a miscalculation in the Taiwan Strait “have increased considerably”. Photo: AFP

Bhavan Jaipragas

Published: 7:21pm, 25 May 2023

Some aspects of the ideological and strategic differences between the United States and China appear to be “insurmountable and may well be irreconcilable”, but there is still hope that both sides can find common ground and rebuild trust to coexist with each other, Singapore’s No 2 leader Lawrence Wong has said.

The prime minister-in-waiting has increasingly been commenting on world affairs ahead of a planned leadership transition, and in remarks during a forum in Tokyo, Wong said he was also stepping up overseas engagements.

In a keynote speech, Wong on Thursday reiterated a talking point that other officials in the city state, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had stressed in recent months – that tensions in the Taiwan Strait had become the “most dangerous flashpoint” in Asia.

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China’s military simulates precision strikes on Taiwan after island’s leader returns from US visit

“All the relevant parties, America, China and Taiwan, say their policies have not changed,” Wong said at Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference. “But in reality, they are all reacting to one another. So the situation is not static – any incremental move by one party has its own dynamic, its own domestic political pressure, and it elicits a countermove by another.

“As a result, the situation is becoming more dangerous, and we are moving closer to the edge,” Wong said. “So while all sides do not want a direct conflict, the risks of an accident or miscalculation have increased considerably.”

Noting that the situation in Taiwan and the broader US-China rivalry would depend “largely on the actions of the two powers” and that some of their differences appeared insurmountable, Wong said there was still hope that “both sides will be able to manage their differences, focus on the issues where they share common ground, and with time, gradually find a basis to rebuild trust, to coexist and work together”.

On the economic front, Wong said while it was understandable why countries were seeking to de-risk or diversify, it was hard to see how doing so could be confined to just a few strategic areas without affecting broader economic interactions.