As a friend to both America and China, Singapore can be put in a difficult situation if there is friction between the two giants, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with British broadcaster BBC.

He made the point when presenter Stephen Sackur asked about rising tensions in the region and perceived unhappiness from China over Singapore’s ties with America.

Mr Lee said: “If America-China relations become very difficult, our position becomes tougher. Because then we will be coerced to choose between being friends with America, and friends with China.

“That is the real worry.”

He was on the BBC’s HARDtalk interview programme aired yesterday, during which he was also asked about the international climate, freedom of expression and the law criminalising gay sex.

On US-China ties, he added: “Right now, we are friends with both. Not that we do not have issues with either, but we are generally friends with both, and the relationships are in good working order.”

Mr Sackur, however, noted that with the US, there are problems, including President Donald Trump’s antipathy towards global trade.

He asked Mr Lee if the US’ move to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact had caused Singapore to review whether the US “has its back”.

Mr Lee replied that everyone in the region, Singapore included, was watching the US very carefully.

“We have a very deep relationship with the United States. They are our biggest investor. They are one of our major export markets,” he said.

Both countries co-operate in defence, security and counterterrorism, and Americans are very welcome here and Singaporeans feel very comfortable in America.

But Singapore would have to watch America’s direction and political tone, as well as what its government does, Mr Lee added.

Turning to Singapore-China ties, Mr Sackur brought up Hong Kong’s seizure of nine Singapore Armed Forces Terrex infantry carriers on their way back from a military exercise in Taiwan last November.

Said Mr Lee: “I would not say we have major problems. We have had some issues and some incidents. The military vehicles were an incident which happened to both of us and we had to handle it.”

Asked if it suggested a lack of trust between them, Mr Lee said: “It was a delicate matter for both sides and I think both sides handled it carefully and there has been a satisfactory outcome.”

CLARIFY

Mr Lee also clarified Singapore’s position on an international tribunal ruling last July that China’s claims in the South China Sea are illegal.

He said the court had made a strong statement, but stressed that Singapore does not judge specific claims, and respects the interest of the court.

Mr Sackur suggested Singapore’s stance on the case could be viewed by Beijing as a betrayal of friendship.

Further, it had in October 2015 let America deploy Poseidon surveillance planes on its territory.

Mr Lee said Singapore has had this relationship with the US for a long time.

It buys military equipment from the superpower and its air force trains in the US.

Singapore has also hosted US aircraft and ships which pass through and stop here.

Singapore does all this because it believes America’s presence in the region has brought about stability and enabled countries to prosper, Mr Lee said.

But Beijing-Washington ties require close and sustained attention on both sides, he noted.

While China is paying attention to the relationship, he said, the US has many other issues to worry about.

“It is not just a matter of making strong statements. You have to… communicate convincingly and to a certain degree, openly with the other side, and develop that strategic understanding so that there is no miscalculation,” he added.

When asked about a free trade deal with the United Kingdom, Mr Lee said Singapore would be happy to negotiate one when Britain is ready.

He also said Singapore would sign a new TPP trade pact minus the US if there was consensus from the other countries.

“I would not rule it out, but I think it is not so easy to achieve,” he added.

charyong@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 2, 2017.
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Budget 2017 was neither politically motivated nor one that took a “wait-and-see attitude”, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing said yesterday, refuting the arguments of the Workers’ Party (WP).

Instead, the key thrust of the Budget is to distribute finite resources and ensure the weakest members of society receive the most help, he pointed out.

Non-Constituency MP Leon Perera, from the WP, had said two days ago that it made “political sense” for the Government to introduce price hikes now “because people have three years to forget them before the next General Election”.

His fellow NCMP Daniel Goh described the budget as a “wait-and-see” move by the Government as it prepares for the changes that will affect the economy and workers.

Mr Chan, in rejecting their observations, said the Budget is about building “the kind of society we aspire to be”.

He cited the values of inclusiveness and social mobility. “We want to give everybody a fair chance. We want social mobility. And that is what defines Singapore.”

As resources are finite, more help given to one person means less for another, he noted.

Hence, when there is a need to raise taxes or prices, it takes courage on the part of political leaders to say that those who are richer have to foot a bigger bill so that the poorer people can get more help.

The approach helps bring about a fairer society, added Mr Chan, who is also the secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

It avoids what a fellow union leader called the “sedimentation model”, in which resourWces are distributed such that those who get to dip into the pot first will get to pick the best.

If such an approach takes root, Mr Chan warns it will become harder to change.

RESPONSIBLE

The Government had announced increases in water prices and diesel and plans to introduce carbon taxes because it was the responsible thing to do, Mr Chan reiterated.

“A responsible government is one that prices the essentials properly, not distort the market, leading to more subsidies that will burden our future generations.

“A responsible government is someone who knows what is not sustainable and will put a stop to it now. This is not a wait-and-see budget,” Mr Chan said.

If it were a wait-and-see budget or one motivated by political timing, the Government would not have introduced carbon pricing, diesel and water taxes, he added.

Mr Chan’s speech yesterday came one day after Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S. Iswaran outlined the Government’s broad and targeted measures to help Singapore companies overcome headwinds as well as grow and expand overseas.

Besides rebutting the arguments of the WP NCMPs, Mr Chan also spoke of the pressures of maintaining a budget surplus, NTUC’s plan to help workers and the water price hike in his 45-minute speech.

Mr Chan also addressed criticisms that the Government had ignored the short-term pain felt by some.

He said the Government had provided targeted help because it feels the people’s pain.

“If indeed this is a cynical government, then we shouldn’t be giving anything at all,” he said.

tohyc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 2, 2017.
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Environment Minister says water is a “national security issue”

Water prices were increased substantially to reflect its true scarcity value, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli told Parliament yesterday.

As MPs debated the Budget for the second day, he addressed the hot topic of the tariff hike announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keaton Feb 20.

Mr Heng had said the price of water will go up – the first increase in 17 years – by 30 per cent in two phases, starting from July 1, to pay for more costly methods of obtaining fresh water from seawater and get people to conserve water.

On Tuesday, several MPs raised concerns that the price hike could hit smaller businesses with higher costs.

Yesterday, Mr Masagos said water is unlike any other ordinary commodity in Singapore.

“Water is a strategic issue. It is a national security issue. We must price water fully,” he said.

“The consumer must feel the full price of water and realise how valuable and precious it is, every time he or she turns on the tap, right from the first drop.”

He explained that water costs have also gone up.

For example, the first-year price of desalination for Singapore’s first plant – the SingSpring Desalination Plant – in 2005 was 78 cents per cubic metre (m3), but the first-year price for the latest plant at Marina East was $1.08 per m3, about 40 per cent more.

Mr Masagos said there is a limit to recycling water, hence the need to rely on desalination plants, of which three more will be built in the next three years.

He also said PUB is more than doubling the rate of renewal for old pipelines from the current 20km per year, to 50km per year, to minimise disruptions.

This – coupled with the depletion of Johor’s Linggiu Reservoir, which Singapore draws water from – means it was urgent that policies and the right pricing are in place to moderate demand to ensure a secure water supply.

Mr Masagos said awarding rebates to those who save water would be counter-intuitive to ensuring they pay for the cost of producing water.

“To give back that cost means we are subsidising the use of water. Any way we change the structure of water that we have today either involves cost or is counter-intuitive to trying to promote the conservation of water,” he said.

Hougang MP Png Eng Huat had earlier called the quantum of increase “puzzling” and for the Government to open its books to justify the increase.

But Mr Masagos said he was unable to provide details of the computation because of commercial sensitivities.

Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh asked if PUB would consider deepening local reservoirs to increase the local catchment.

Mr Masagos said the answer was not as simple, as studies show that a reservoir’s yield can be reduced if the bottom of the reservoir is disturbed.

But he said water prices will remain affordable, with 75 per cent of businesses seeing a hike of less than $25 a month.

One- and two-room HDB households will not see any rise on average, while other HDB households will see monthly bills go up by $2 to $11 a month.

“Water will still be affordable. It will still remain within 1 per cent of household income,” Mr Masagos said.

This article was first published on March 2, 2017.
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A construction worker fell nearly 20 storeys to his death at the work site of upcoming mixed-use development Marina One yesterday morning, hitting another worker as his body landed on the third storey.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force received a call at 11.10am and sent two ambulances.

The worker who fell died at the scene, while the worker he fell on was taken to Singapore General Hospital.

The Straits Times understands that the dead worker, a 21-year-old from Bangladesh, had fallen off the 22nd storey and was found on the third storey without a safety harness.

He was believed to have been off-duty, although it is not clear why he was at the site.

Another Bangladeshi worker, 38, was working on the third storey when the first worker’s body hit him during the fall.

He sustained neck injuries, but is now in stable condition.

Most work at the site had stopped when ST visited yesterday afternoon.

Construction worker Muhammad Nazrul, 28, said the man who died was called Tanim and was from the district of Meherpur in south-western Bangladesh. He had been working on the project for nine months.

“He is a good man… I last saw him three months ago, when we went for prayer sessions,” said Mr Muhammad.

Another worker from India, who wanted to be known only as Raja, said Mr Tanim had been having family problems.

The project developer is M+S, a joint venture between Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. The builder is Hyundai-GS Joint Venture.

The Straits Times understands that the case was not classified as an industrial accident. The police said they are investigating the unnatural death.

This article was first published on March 2, 2017.
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Two readers ‘Din’ and ‘Anonymous’ alerted Stomp to an incident that happened this morning (Mar 1) at the Marina One construction project in Marina South, where a man died after falling down from a height.

Stomp contributor Din, who was informed by his friend working at the site, said the worker was from Hyundai Engineering and Construction, the main contractor in charge of the project.

Both Stomp readers said one person died, while another was injured.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force told Stomp that they were alerted to the incident at 11.11am.

Two ambulances were dispatched, and one person was pronounced dead at the scene, while a male Indian in his thirties was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital.

Stomp has contacted the police for more details.

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