China has turned its attention to extending its strategic foothold in the Pacific,withBeijing outlining ambitions to establish security ties with as many as 10 countries in the region and Foreign Minister Wang Yi beginning a 10-day tour.
South-East Asia is already well versed in the competition for influence between superpowers and Lee said that most nations in the region did not want to pick sides.
“It’s natural for some countries to be closer to one side or the other but most countries would prefer not to be forced to choose between the US and China,” he said at the Nikkei Future of Asia conference in Japan.
“There will be no good outcome if Asian countries are split between the two camps,each siding with one or the other. A more stable,less tense configuration is for the two powers to have overlapping circles of friends.”
Countries such as Singapore,Indonesia,the Philippines and Malaysia have attempted to perform a delicate balancing act amid rising geopolitical animosity and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Some have established defence ties with the US but many have increasingly strong economic links with Beijing.
Singapore is one of seven ASEAN nations – the others are Indonesia,Malaysia,the Philippines,Thailand,Vietnam and Brunei – that have signed up to Biden’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework,which was unveiled during his visit to Japan this week and which is being viewed as another vehicle to counter China in the region.