Singapore will join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an initiative launched by the United States during President Jo Biden’s visit to Tokyo on May 23. At the same time, the city-state supports China’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a free trade agreement between several countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but abandoned by the United States under the presidency of Donald Trump.
In an exclusive interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explains that this will allow “maintaining a balance so as not to be too dependent on a single axis”.
“We can thrive together and benefit from interdependencies.” His country, he says, aims to “maintaining a stable, peaceful and secure region”.
His remarks come at a time when the United States and China are pursuing different strategies to expand their influence in this area. Joe Biden urges partners in the reg