Politics
Singapore seeks to navigate US-China rivalry regardless of presidential election outcome
The city state has adapted well to the rivalry and is unlikely to shift from its hedging policy between Washington and Beijing, analysts say
As the United States presidential election draws closer, Singapore is keeping a close eye on how the outcome could affect its careful tightrope walk between the world’s largest economy and China amid their ongoing geopolitical rivalry and trade war.
The city state has been adapting well to the evolving realities arising from the fallout of the US-China rivalry, analysts say.
Regardless of who becomes the next US leader following the November 5 election – Vice-President Kamala Harris or ex-president Donald Trump – the fundamentals of America’s foreign policies towards China and Asia are unlikely to change drastically as much of the uncertainty has been factored in, according to analysts.
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“While Trump may inject greater uncertainty and unpredictability, a Harris presidency will not and cannot suddenly engender stability, peace and predictability,” said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Public Policy and Global Affairs division.
Last week, Singapore’s Senior Minister and former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong warned that if Trump were to slap tariffs of 60 per cent or higher on Chinese goods in his second term as promised, it would put Singapore in “uncharted territory”.
“On the American side, there are not many issues where the Democrats and the Republicans agree on, but this is one [US policy towards China]. And that is a very serious matter. So whether it is Harris or whether it is Trump, that is not going to be changing,” Lee said at a business event last week.
A second Trump term would likely spell more disruptions for American allies and other countries, he said. “In particular, I think, what you can anticipate is that his attitude towards allies, towards America’s friends, will be different from what the Democrat administration has done in these last four years,” Lee added.
In an interview with The Economist in May, days before he became Singapore’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong described the city state as being neither pro-China nor pro-US but “pro-Singapore”. He stressed that Singapore must brace itself for the possibility of a decade or more of unpredictability as the US and China sought a new equilibrium in their relationship.
Last year, Singapore and China upgraded their free trade agreement, which would give businesses from the city state more access to Chinese markets. China has been Singapore’s biggest trading partner since 2013, with two-way trade totalling US$108.39 billion last year, according to data from both countries.
Singapore also has a free-trade agreement with the US since 2004, Washington’s first with an Asian country.
Meanwhile, regional countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have been closely monitoring the impact of the US-China tech war as global businesses seek a haven from the fallout.
Singapore has become one of the top destinations for global tech firms looking to expand their operations into the region, and is home to 80 of the world’s top 100 technology companies, according to a 2023 article published by the Economic Development Board.
Singapore’s Pulau Brani port terminal. The country’s two biggest trading partners are China and the US. Photo: AFP
Hedging policy
Harris and Trump have so far been vague about their plans for Southeast Asia, according to analysts who spoke to The Post previously
Ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have diverted Washington’s attention from Southeast Asia, which could limit its ability to engage effectively with the region and Singapore, the analysts said.
While Trump was expected to be “more transactional” in dealing with Washington’s regional allies, Harris would likely adopt a “more personal approach” in dealing with the region, they added.
Singapore is expected to be agnostic about the next US president and is unlikely to depart from its hedging policy between Washington and Beijing, according to one analyst.
In an Asia New Zealand Foundation commentary published earlier this week, NTU’s Loh wrote that across the Trump and Joe Biden administrations in the US, ties between Washington and Singapore had not shifted drastically “from its historically strong and progressive character”.
He pointed out that there were important progress made in areas such as critical technologies, clean energy, and financial technologies throughout the two administrations.
Then US President Donald Trump talks with then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the city state in 2018. Photo: AP
Relations between the US and Singapore were based on common interests and pragmatism, said Bilahari Kausikan, a former permanent secretary of Singapore’s foreign ministry.
“There is only one America which plays a vital role in maintaining balance in Asia – a role that is now acknowledged by traditionally non-aligned countries like India and Indonesia and even old enemies like Vietnam – so we will find a way of working with whoever occupies the White House,” he wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.
If Trump were to carry out his promise to levy tariffs on all imports to promote American manufacturing, it would slow the world economy, Kausikan said.
He was referring to the Republican presidential candidate’s proposal to impose a 20 per cent tariff on goods from all US trading partners and at least 60 per cent on Chinese imports.
Kausikan said Trump could also adopt a tougher stance on Chinese goods using Southeast Asia as a “back door into the US”. While Harris would likely not ignore these issues, she might not “pursue them with the same sharpness” as Trump, Kausikan added.
“We have to understand that the US attitude towards trade has fundamentally changed and adapt ourselves to the new reality,” he said.
US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a news conference in Singapore in 2021. Photo: AP
Tan See Seng, research adviser at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said any move to impose higher tariffs on US trading partners could prove “challenging” for Singapore, given the city state’s heavy reliance on global trade.
“If Trump wins, he is likely to reconvene another trade war with China. If that leads to China doubling down on its ongoing effort to ‘decouple’ its economy from the US, Singapore’s economy will be affected but it’s unclear at this point exactly how so,” he added.
On the other hand, Harris would likely take on a more “nuanced strategy” if she were to become president, Tan said. Regardless of the next occupant of the White House, Singapore would have to find a “sweet spot” to manage its ties with China and the US, he added.
The dynamics within the Democratic and Republican parties would also influence the approach of the US towards China, said Chong Ja Ian, a political scientist from the National University of Singapore.
Some Republicans have been calling for a tougher approach towards Beijing while others from the same party preferred for Washington to maintain the status quo, he said.
“We’re not sure, even after the presidential election, which of these voices will win out within the different parties. If Trump wins, he cycles through these people quickly so there could be a lot of vacillation among these different kinds of voices,” he said.
In comparison, Washington’s China policy could be more “gradual” under a Harris administration, he added.
Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries have learnt to navigate through the US presidential cycles every four years, including their impact on Washington’s relationship with China, analysts said.
Tan from RSIS said: “China may respond a little differently to the US depending on who is leading America and Singapore will need to adroitly go with the flow.”
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted to the senate two lists of 34 career and 31 non career ambassadors nominees for screening and confirmation.
Prominent names listed as non career ambassadors include Reno Omokri, Femi Fani-Kayode, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, Victor Ikpeazu and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Also listed as non career ambassadors nominees are Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Vice Admiral Ete Ibas, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Senator Nora Daduut, Fatima Ajimobi, and Senator Ita Enang among others.
The two lists brings to 68 number of persons nominated so far as ambassadors awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
Politics
PRESIDENT TINUBU FORWARDS NEW AMBASSADORIAL LIST TO SENATE, NOMINATES DAMBAZAU, IBAS, CHIOMA OHAKIM AND OTHERS
By Prince Uwalaka Chimaroke
4-DEC- 2025
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has submitted a fresh set of ambassadorial nominations to the Senate, featuring a mix of distinguished public figures and seasoned professionals drawn from across the country.
Among the notable nominees are former Chief of Army Staff and ex-Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau; former Chief of Naval Staff and immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; former senator Ita Enang; and Mrs. Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State.
The President formally transmitted two comprehensive lists containing 34 career and 31 non-career ambassadorial nominees, bringing the total number of nominees awaiting Senate confirmation to 68.
The newly submitted lists mark another significant step in the administration’s ongoing diplomatic restructuring, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s representation and presence across global missions.
The Senate is expected to commence screening and confirmation proceedings in the coming days.
Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to a Former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Abia State, Chief Charles Ogbonna, wherein he called Governor Alex Otti unprintable names and also alleged that Governor Otti didn’t visit President Tinubu to discuss the issue of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, but to plan on how to defect to the APC, among other childish verbal attacks.
Chief Ognonna has been unleashing unprovoked verbal venom and vituperation on the Governor, but we chose to ignore him, not only because we have been busy with the task of governance, but because we also know that he is traumatised by the obscurity he was plunged into after the 2023 general election and felt he should be allowed to experience some healing that could help normalise his reasoning.
Ordinarily, we would have still ignored Chief Ognonna’s latest idle tirade and allow him delude himself with fantasies of fury, but because the Nnamdi Kanu issue is both sensitive and very important to this government, we felt we should respond and put the records straight.
In continuation of Governor Otti’s efforts aimed at securing Kanu’s release, the Governor subsequently had a meeting with the President after visiting the IPOB leader at the Sokoto Correctional Centre on Sunday, November 30 2025. This is in continuation of earlier meetings the Governor had been having with the FG on this matter in the past two years.
The issue of Kanu was the only subject matter that took Governor Otti to Aso Rock and to the Glory of God, the meeting was both positive and fruitful, as the President was so gracious and generous.
Chief Ogbonna’s allegation of Governor Otti going to lobby to join the APC is both petty, ignoble, laughable and very irresponsible. At the risk of sounding immodest, any political party Governor Otti chooses to join today would roll out the drums and red carpet to welcome him with joy and excitement. If anything, many notable and respected APC leaders are not just desirous of having him in their fold, but are strongly appealing to Governor Otti to join their party because they know that he is not a liability.
Ogbonna accused Otti of betrayal, but he didn’t say who Otti betrayed, how and when.
He claimed that Otti doesn’t have capacity, yet Otti defeated him in his Polling Unit, Ward and LGA where his PDP Candidates from House of Assembly to President lost woefully.
He accused Governor Otti of inconsistency, yet he abandoned Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar less than 48 hours after the result of the Presidential Election was announced, in spite of the empty noise and boast he made about the PDP’s Presidential Candidate, all for Atiku’s money when it was needed and available.
He alleged that Governor Otti is playing politics with Nnamdi Kanu, yet, he is angry that the Governor is engaging the FG to secure Kanu’s freedom. Is there anything more contradictory and ridiculous than Ogbonna’s utterances?
At this point, the general public needs to know the genesis of Chief Ogbonna’s anger and aggression.
Having acquired Agbozu Cocoa Plantation when he was in government, the present government decided to reclaim the Plantation which was yielding nothing to the state under Charles Ogbonna. In line with Governor Otti’s policy of operating a government with human face, which sees him pay compensation so as not to hurt any citizen or investor, he approved a compensation package which was paid to Chief Ogbonna. He was excited and full of thanks and appreciation to Governor Otti for the gesture, because he knew he didn’t deserve it. Unfortunately and in line with his insatiable quest for power and money, he thought that another opportunity had opened for him to surreptitiously sneak into the government as he later nominated his son to be appointed by Governor Otti. The Governor flatly declined the request and subsequently appointed another person from the same Ogbonna’s Community, a development that made him feel slighted, diminished and broken and has since then gone out of control, throwing tantrums and hoping to be invited for settlement.
Chief Ogbonna’s problem, like some of his co-travellers is his failure to wake up from his slumber and realise that the era of ruins is over and that Abia has moved forward, never to be dragged back.
His primitive arrogance and mediocre mindset that limit his understanding of government and governance to political appointments, settlement and sharing of public funds without service to the people has so blinded him to the extent that he attacked the Governor recently for awarding the badly broken Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road, claiming that the FG had aleady awarded it and thus should not be awarded by the Governor. How could any human being with conscience prefer that his people continue to suffer and die in their numbers just because he feels that building the strategic road would earn the Governor a huge political capital? Ogbonna needs to be reminded that such evil mindset has no place in the New Abia.
Even though Ogbonna’s character deficiency doesn’t position him for any modicum of respect, however, having advanced in age, he is expected to conduct himself honourably and responsibly so as not to attract insults to himself.
Finally, Ogbonna needs to be educated that one of the hallmarks of a great leader is his ability to apply wisdom, emotional intelligence and deploy the instrument of diplomacy in solving problems that have the propensity to impact the security of life and property of the people negatively if handled wrongly.
Governor Otti didn’t campaign with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s name in 2023, and doesn’t need to campaign with his plight for 2027, however, he strongly believes that resolving the problem of Kanu’s conviction is one of the ways to achieving peace, security and healing in our land. Unfortunately, Chief Ogbonna is not grounded, both in character and knowledge of the ingredients of modern leadership, hence his kindergarten politicisation of Governor Otti’s engagements with the FG and visit to the President.
Now that Ogbonna has become an errand boy in the APC, he needs to be reminded that he can pursue his stomach agenda without necessarily carrying out this misplaced aggression against Governor Otti, because it makes him look more pathetic than he can ever imagine.
Ferdinand Ekeoma
Special Adviser to the Governor
(Media and Publicity)
December 4, 2025.
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