If US-China relationship breaks apart, it could end period of peace and prosperity: Vivian Balakrishnan
If the relationship between the US and China breaks apart, it could spell the end of a period that has been characterised by peace and prosperity as well as relatively low inflation and interest rates, said Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Friday (Aug 5).
“Once you split apart, it means higher prices, it means less efficient supply chains, it means a more divided world or more disrupted and dangerous world, so those are the stakes,” he added.
Dr Balakrishnan was speaking to reporters at a virtual interview on the last day of his visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia where he attended the 55th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
The meeting, which had been expected to focus on the crisis in Myanmar, was overshadowed by tensions in the Taiwan Strait after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan this week.
China has furiously condemned Pelosi’s trip, which was the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in 25 years.
In a show of force, Beijing began its largest military exercises around Taiwan on Thursday, which continued Friday, firing ballistic missiles and deploying fighter jets and warships.
When asked about his assessment of tensions on both sides, Dr Balakrishnan said that the US and China are not looking for conflict, but for political reasons, both sides have had to take a stance. Read More...
