SINGAPORE: Singapore will not allow any single issue to hijack its longstanding, wide-ranging relationship with China, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said on Tuesday (Nov 29).
Dr Balakrishnan, the keynote speaker at The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum, was responding to questions about recent frictions in Singapore-China ties, including last week’s seizure of nine Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) armoured vehicles by the Customs authorities in Hong Kong.
Senior officials on both sides understand that the relationship is “longstanding, multi-faceted, mutually beneficial” and will not allow any single issue to hijack it, he said at the forum at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Dr Balakrishnan added: “I wouldn’t overreact to that… we expect commercial providers of services to strictly comply with the law.
“It will be a footnote on how to do things strictly, carefully and by the law. It’s not a strategic incident.”
