Synopsis of our success
The success of Singapore is due to our trading hub status which is derived from our entrepot trades and our financial hub status is ensued from our international trading. As we trade internationally, we require more banking and financial services like loans, insurances, forex exchanges, payment cum receipt systems and so forth to support our trading activities. Conversely, no country can be a financial hub without gargantuan trading activities. Therefore, being a trading hub is vital to the success of Singapore and it guarantees our survival. The prerequisite to be a trading hub is to have many FTAs so that we can achieve the efficacy of international trading better than other solitary countries. This is the primal reason for Singapore to support RCEP(Spearheaded by China) and TPP(Spearheaded by USA).
As TPP is highly unlikely to be approved by USA since both USA presidential candidates object to the TPP proposed by Obama, Singapore can only rely on RCEP. However, our strategic alliance with USA and anti-thesis attitude towards China do not bode well for Singapore.
China defensive plan
China has come up with its grandeur one belt one road economic development plan for the world to counteract USA. In a nutshell, China is linking up the world with its road and sea links. As USA proclaimed Singapore to be its anchor in Asia, China had to obliterate Singapore economically for it to control Asean. Sadly to say, Singapore will be the first economic casualty in this tactical gambit between the two titans. USA is using Singapore to gain an advantage while China is skinning Singapore to gain its advantage. The antiquated USA tactic of controlling the strait of Malacca from Singapore won’t be able to contain China anymore.
China will make Laos the land transshipment hub as the railway routes can transport goods from Europe to Asean and vice versa. This will greatly reduce the demand for sea freights and diminish Singapore strategic port location. Furthermore, China is helping many countries to build and manage ports that will cut down shipments to Singapore or even bypass Singapore.
China has built ports and oil cum gas pipelines in Myanmar and Pakistan so that its crude oil from Middle East can bypass strait of Malacca during war times. Moreover, other goods can be offloaded from these ports and be transported to China via the railway. China is also using Malaysia to reduce the economic growth of Singapore by investing in Johor and building the Malacca port. Besides all these developments, there is also a revival discussion on the Krai canal sea lane in Thailand which will make Thailand the Panama of Asean.
Forming strategic alliance with USA has served Singapore well but time has changed. China is doing all these to counteract USA for its own survival and the main culprit is USA that is the aggressor. USA has shown to be a selfish nation which adopts neighbor-thy-beggar economic policy and is proven to be an unreliable and incredible ally. History has shown that USA will sacrifice its allies for its own interest and Singapore is just a pawn to USA. The latest examples are Saudi Arab and Taiwan. These 2 countries have suffered economically because of USA in recent times.
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Anti-Singapore sentiment had begun to brew in China after Singapore allowed USA P8A spy plane to station in Singapore. Therefore, we cannot be lured into the deception that relationship is still cozy with China as there are joint industrial and provincial projects in China. If Singapore still persists in pursuing in USA interest, the day of reckoning will hit us harshly once the one road one belt developments become operational.
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