RSIS must help Singapore stay one step ahead in a more unpredictable world: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE – For Singapore to understand the geopolitical forces that are reshaping the world, it must have a deep, granular and human understanding of the worldviews, insecurities and ambitions of leaders in Beijing and Washington.

The city-state must also have that same depth of understanding of the forces shaping the societies of its closest neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, and not assume that these relationships can be managed on autopilot, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing.

To this end, the job of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) to provide policymakers here with deep, candid and forward-looking analysis is never done, Chan said at a lecture to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the graduate school and think-tank.

At the event at the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay on Sept 22, Chan recounted how RSIS’ predecessor, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), was started in 1996 so that Singapore would have its own strategic voice and not be blindsided by external developments.

This imperative has only intensified 30 years on, with the world changing much more quickly and in more unpredictable ways, noted Chan, who pointed to how US-China rivalry now cuts across trade, technology, supply chains, and ideology.

Singapore has to date been relevant to the US and China because of its understanding of the issues they face, and its ability to offer a perspective as a honest and trusted third party. But this relevance is never guaranteed and has to be earned continuously, he added.

He cited the RSIS Trilateral Exchange as a good example of how the Republic has created trusted spaces where American and Chinese academics and officials could come together to discuss their differences frankly, and in so doing provide a glimpse of their inner thinking. The seventh edition of the annual dialogue concluded on August 27.

“As the perspectives and needs of the US and China shift, we must constantly challenge ourselves to come up with new propositions that can continue to entrench our relevance,” he said. “We cannot be the proverbial one-trick pony.”

Addressing a question on how Singapore intends to avoid choosing sides when geostrategic competition is impacting more sectors of the economy, Chan said he was not a fan of binary thinking, and that Singapore and RSIS’ job is to always think of another way, starting with the Republic’s national interests.

“Our job is to make sure that Singapore is an open, trusted, inclusive platform for other people to come and work together,” he said. “We always say that you can be competitors, you can even be rivals, but you need not be enemies.”

The fact that two countries are not the same should mean there are more opportunities to work together and complement each other, but that is provided there is a deep sense of trust on both sides, he added.

“If you don’t have a deep sense of trust (and) if you cannot set aside your differences and manage them, then you’ll never get anything done.”

Chan was also asked about the Iran war, and whether the city-state can play a role in resolving the Middle East conflict.

He replied that Singapore is always willing to be a facilitator for people willing to talk to each other honestly - whatever region they are from - but the starting point must be that parties want to come together to work towards something better.

However, if either side does not see that as something they are prepared to do, then realistically it is impossible for this to be achieved, he added.

“Then you have to wait for the correct time,” said Chan. “Either that, or to let the next generation with greater wisdom, as they say, come to this point.”

In his lecture, Chan said he shared IDSS founding director S R Nathan’s vision that the think-tank should be the go-to place for anyone in the region who wants to deeply understand Southeast Asia’s deep dynamics, especially Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

But this requires a lot of hard work: of history, political culture, and economic structure, to the relationships between the different states and institutions within each of these polities.

It also requires constant outreach to stakeholders beyond Singapore to build a network of people and institutions that see RSIS as a trusted place to make sense of the world together, he added.

“That has been the tall order we set for ourselves since 1996,” he said.

In essence, the think-tank’s mission is to help Singapore stay one step ahead, using these deep connections that it has assiduously built up, Chan added.

“In my view, RSIS must always aspire to be the institution that builds and sustains this capability for Singapore,” he said. “This is the reason – and will continue to be the reason – why we will support RSIS’s growth and development.”