SINGAPORE: Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Monday (5 February) that Singapore and China would He said the “strong and deep” relationship was not affected.
Dr Balakrishnan said in a written response to a parliamentary question by Dennis Tan (WP, Hugan) on bilateral relations that “Singapore has been approached by the Chinese side and we are committed to our long-standing approach and the ‘One China ‘I reiterated the policy,” he said.
“Our strong and deep relationship with China remains unaffected and our engagement with China is progressing well.”
On January 14, Singapore congratulated Dr. Lai, who secured the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential position in Taiwan’s elections.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said at the time that Singapore “shares a long-standing and close friendship with Taiwan and the Taiwanese people and will continue to develop this relationship based on the ‘One China’ policy.”
The MFA spokesperson said Singapore consistently supports the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
Dr. Lai, a former mayor of Tainan, is a prominent supporter of Taiwanese independence. His rivals and critics say his election would endanger Taiwan and threaten peace with China.
The Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing said in a statement that the vote “does not disrupt the inevitable trend of China’s unification,” according to Xinhua news agency.
China condemned countries that celebrated Dr. Lai’s victory, including Singapore, the United States, Japan and several European countries.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference that China “immediately launched a solemn march against Singapore.”
“Singapore’s leaders have repeatedly stated that the Taiwan issue is a ‘deep red line’ for China,” she added.
“China respects this statement and expects Singapore to strictly adhere to the one-China principle and uphold the overall friendly relations between China and Singapore with concrete actions.”