Speech by Minister for Defence at 12th Xiangshan Forum Second Plenary on “Strategic Mutual Trust and Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region”

尊敬的先生和女士们，大家早上好。非常荣幸受中国国防部长董军海军上将的邀请参加第十二届北京香山论坛。在此，希望大家能在这次的论坛中坦诚交流，共同探讨当今世界和我们区域所正在面临的挑战。接下来，请让我用英语继续发言。

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Singapore Ministry of Defence and the Singapore Armed Forces, first let me congratulate the China Association for Military Science and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies for hosting the 12th edition of the Xiangshan Forum. 

The theme for this year’s forum is “Upholding International Order and Promoting Peaceful Development”. This topic is timely. We live in a dangerous age. Global peace and prosperity face risks not seen in decades. Three dangers have upended the prevailing world order.

First, on fragmentation. For decades, many countries have benefitted from economic liberalisation and global integration. Every country was able to play to their strengths. We specialised in our comparative advantages. Falling trade barriers fused the global economy together. People around the world benefited from increased global productive capacity. Prices fell. Standards of living rose. Hundreds of millions were uplifted from poverty. Countries across Asia benefited, including Singapore. China achieved historic progress in this regard, through reform and opening up during the era of 改革开放. All of us achieved this by plugging into the integrated global economy. The benefits may not have been evenly distributed within and between countries. However, most were able to get a share of this large and growing pie. As a result, Asia’s middle class grew. Our share of global GDP rose from approximately 25% to nearly 40%, and each generation had more opportunities to do better than the previous. Today, however, there is growing discontent with the uneven distribution of these benefits. Some feel they have been left behind. Others feel that they have been forced to bear the costs of adjustment. Still others feel they have lost their lead, and want to regain it.  Therefore, various groups are pushing back against global integration, and are even trying to reverse it. Protectionism has started to drive policies. As countries turn inwards, there will be fewer opportunities for countries to trade, invest, and do business together. The world’s economic potential will shrink. The chances for our next generation of securing a better future will diminish. This will affect jobs, wages and prices, and lower global productivity in the long term, likely to result in further fragmentation. Our world risks falling into a Prisoners’ Dilemma – where the pursuit of narrow self-interest by each leads to worse outcomes for all. 

Second, we face the challenge of heightened global uncertainties. Uncertainties about policy will further shrink global productive capacity and dampen economic progress. Take tariffs, for example. The issue is not just that the tariffs are high or higher, but they are uncertain and volatile. This causes businesses to hold back their investments, and consumers to defer or reduce their consumption. Global economic uncertainty may also lead to domestic political instability in some countries. Radical politics could in turn generate policy reactions that worsen economic outcomes. The result is a vicious cycle that will be hard to escape.  

Third, there is increased insecurity. The erosion of shared values and norms means that states may behave less predictably. A more uncertain economic environment reinforces uncertainties in the security environment, and vice versa. Many countries already face tight fiscal constraints, and as countries divert more resources to security, there will be less to meet social and economic needs, and those left behind will receive even less support. This will in turn create more domestic pressure against globalisation and increase nativist instincts. History has taught us that such conditions precipitate conflict. Economic upheavals in the 1930s across many countries created fertile ground for radical politics. This triggered a vicious downward spiral in economic and security policies, and stability, and can arguably be said to have contributed to World War II. We once again risk falling into a similar vicious cycle.

In the face of a fraying global order, all countries, big and small, have a shared responsibility and agency to build a world they want to see. We must continue to promote and reinforce the integrated economic and security order underpinned by international law and sovereign equality. This system has allowed all countries, big and small, to have a fair chance to compete and contribute constructively to the global order. The alternative, where trust and dialogue are absent, will see both sides assume the worst of each other. Under the law of the jungle, the mighty will do what they wish; and the weak will suffer what they must. We must avoid this at all cost.

Between major powers, competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive. There is room for major countries to manage their differences and tackle global challenges together – from climate change to global health. These emerging challenges offer many opportunities for partnerships and closer international cooperation in pursuit of common interests. China President Xi Jinping rightly suggested on 3 September 2025 that countries should avoid a zero-sum mentality as we seek to build a more stable world. 各个国家，各个民族，只有和平相待，和睦相处，守望相助，才能维护共同安全 – this is what President Xi said. It is also useful to note US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May 2025 that the US does not seek to dominate, strangle, encircle, or provoke China; does not seek regime change; and will not instigate or disrespect China. Secretary Hegseth again reiterated this at a video call with Admiral Dong Jun last week. And Admiral Dong Jun has also conveyed that both sides should take an open attitude, as well as communication and engagement. Such statements from both superpowers give us confidence. And the world is indeed big enough for all countries to progress, prosper, and learn together on an equal footing. 

From another perspective, small states also have agency. With the fraying global security and economic order, small states may feel increasing pressure to pick sides. However, choosing sides and being a proxy for others breeds irrelevance and undermines one’s agency. Hence small states cannot afford to take sides. Instead, we should consistently abide by the principles that underpin an open and inclusive rules-based order. That is the surest way to secure our survival and success in the long term. Singapore’s approach has been to continuously demonstrate our relevance and value as a partner. Beyond the value we can bring as an economic partner and maintaining good relationships with others, we also aim to be a reliable partner on the global stage. This includes being consistent and principled in our views. Consequently, we must never be a proxy or mouthpiece for others. Once a country becomes a proxy or mouthpiece, it loses its credibility, and therefore its value proposition or as the Chinese say: 选边站就是靠边站，靠边站就得选边站. Singapore therefore upholds our sovereignty and stands by our principles.

Singapore is committed to working with like-minded partners, to weave a web of bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral networks for the common good. In the security domain, we have pushed for constructive engagement between militaries to enhance mutual understanding. The uncertain geopolitical environment today makes this challenging, but even more vital. Platforms like the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, or ADMM and ADMM-Plus play a crucial role in promoting strategic dialogue and practical cooperation between militaries. Since 2017, the ADMM and ADMM-Plus adopted confidence-building guidelines for the air and sea domains. These seek to reduce the risk of miscalculation and escalation should an incident occur. Singapore values China’s consistent partnership and constructive contributions to the ADMM-Plus; in particular, the strong support for the practice of these air and sea confidence-building measures. The 1st ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise, which Singapore co-hosted in 2018, employed the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). Upcoming maritime exercises by the ADMM-Plus militaries will also seek to incorporate elements of CUES. Today, both the ADMM and ADMM-Plus are looking beyond traditional arenas and towards addressing networked and transnational challenges, including the disruption by new technologies like Artificial Intelligence. This is particularly salient as the nature of warfare becomes even more fluid and multifaceted. However, just like the Chinese word for crisis is‘危机’, there is always an opportunity even in a crisis. 危机combines both crisis and opportunity, and Countries should view these challenges as both challenges and opportunities to strengthen cooperation. 

Conclusion 

Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one lesson we can take away, it is that peace can never be taken for granted. All of us here today possess agency to keep the peace, and amidst a fraying global world order, we therefore also possess the responsibility to do so. 

Let me round off with a Chinese and English saying, 强者之权可治人一时，强者之德可治人一世。或者，正如习主席所说"一是强弱在于力，千秋胜负在于理"。借鉴中国悠久的历史，只有天下为公才能赢得世界各地的尊重与信任。All great powers can choose to demonstrate the power of their example, or to demonstrate the example of their power, as spoken by then-President Joe Biden. As we adapt to a transition in the global order, there is a historic opportunity for all great powers to exercise their leadership to win the world over. Doing so will require magnanimity and a shared commitment to maintain harmony. Likewise, there is an opportunity for all small countries like Singapore to contribute to global stability, by taking the side of principles, and not power. All of us have a choice to make. All of us can make the choice to safeguard a better life for future generations.

Thank you very much.

More Resources

Mr Chan: All Countries, Big or Small, Have Shared Responsibility and Agency