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Singapore Regional
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Cooperation with ASEAN, which included Indonesia,
Malaysia,
Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei, was the center of
Singapore's foreign policy after 1975. Before 1975,
Singapore's
interests were global rather than regional, and its policy
toward
ASEAN was characterized by detachment. As the wealthiest
country in
Southeast Asia, it was criticized for failing to help its
neighbors. After 1975, however, Singapore was criticized
for being
too ASEAN oriented, too active, and too vocal in the
organization
for its size, particularly where matters of regional
security were
concerned. The shift in Singapore's stance toward ASEAN
followed
the communist victory in Vietnam in 1975, the waning of a
United
States military presence in Asia, and new signs of Soviet
interest
in the region. Furthermore, the other ASEAN states
permitted
Singapore to assume a leading role in regard to the issue
of
Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. The situation in
Cambodia
in fact, became the unifying force for the diverse
countries
belonging to ASEAN. Singapore's Minister of Foreign
Affairs Wong
Kan Seng commented in March 1989 that, if the situation
were
resolved, some other force would be required to unite the
member
nations. The resolution of the Cambodian conflict would
also raise
the possibility of Vietnam being considered for
membership,
although in 1989 Singapore was not prepared to support
Vietnam's
immediate entry.
ASEAN provided Singapore with a means of improving its
bilateral relations with Indonesia and Malaysia, two
neighbors who
were potential threats to Singapore's security.
Singapore's leaders
never identified the external enemy Singapore's armed
forces were
trained to deter
(see
Strategic Perspective
, ch. 5). When
asked in
1984 who was Singapore's biggest threat, Prime Minister
Lee
responded only that "the biggest threat...is that any
threat will
come from someone bigger than us."
Data as of December 1989
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