Judging capabilities and intentions of others can help Singapore navigate opportunities, risks: Chan Chun Sing
Singapore's continued ability to interpret and project — ahead of time — the implications of personalities, institutions and forces shaping the world are necessary for the country to stay relevant, connected and ahead, said Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday (Sept 22). "Think of not just trying to understand what is happening; but trying to think two or three steps ahead, and to forewarn Singapore before what people thought would never happen actually does," said Chan at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies' (RSIS) 30th anniversary distinguished lecture.But while celebrating the milestone, Chan, who is also Singapore's Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, cautioned that the world has changed over the past 30 years. He pointed to how the US-China rivalry now spans across trade, technology, supply chains, and ideology; and how economic interdependence, which was once seen as a source of shared prosperity, has now become a tool of leverage and coercion.