Choose a relationship and see how Singapore balanced its interests.
Which relationship best shows Singapore's approach?
The USA
- Supported the US role in Vietnam.
- Offered access to facilities in 1990.
The USA was the main balance against communist powers and a source of investment.
Singapore avoided a formal alliance to keep its independence.
The USSR
- Diplomatic ties and trade from 1968.
- Condemned Afghanistan and Cambodia in 1979.
Contact showed independence; opposition showed principle.
Soviet naval growth worried Singapore.
China
- Trade offices from 1981.
- Diplomatic relations only in October 1990.
Economic links grew while political caution protected regional ties.
Earlier Chinese support for regional communists slowed relations.