Highlights

The golden age of globalisation appears to be giving way to a new era defined by rising geopolitical tensions, technological disruptions and climate risks. These shifts are transforming the trade landscape, marked by trends of decoupling, friend-shoring and the growth of a green economy. Mr Tan Chong Meng delves into how recent developments are influencing […]

Last month, US President Joe Biden signed a Bill that would ban TikTok in the United States unless its China-based owner ByteDance divests from the social media platform. This move stemmed from fears that China could compel the platform to hand over the personal data of its 170 million American users to the Chinese government […]

Fourth Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong issued a strong rallying cry to Singaporeans to work with him and his team to continue to “defy the odds and sustain this miracle called Singapore” in his swearing-in speech on 15 May. PM Wong was clear-eyed about the external conditions our small city-state faces today. He pointed out […]

May 15, 2024, the date Singapore’s fourth prime minister took over the reins of government, will be one for the history books. But what will this mean for Singaporeans? Perhaps nothing momentous, since Singapore’s calling card to the world has been political stability. In fact, our political leadership probably hopes that this handover is as […]

Which country has greater influence in South-east Asia – China or the US? The answer to the question is not as straightforward as the question suggests. If we are to rely on surveys, the answer can hinge on the choice of participants and also the nature of influence we are talking about. Influence is also […]

A wise man once said that countries have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.  This wisdom will help to explain the four historical phases of US-China relations. From 1949 to 1972, the two countries were enemies.  They had no diplomatic relations.  Their armed forces clashed in Korea during the Korean War.  […]

Singapore has emerged consistently as a top International Maritime Centre, according to the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index, despite huge industry shifts since the advent of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). As the shipping industry continues to evolve, Mr Tan Chong Meng used the metaphor of a spacecraft landing in a particular orbit […]

Amid recent disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, there has been a growing interest in supply chain management. In the first of three lectures at the Institute of Policy Studies’ (IPS) 14th IPS-Nathan Lecture Series on “Exploring Global Trade and Singapore’s Place as a World Connector”, Mr Tan Chong Meng, former Group CEO […]

Concerns have sparked regarding what schools in Singapore are teaching students about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Some have expressed gripes on social media that stem particularly from the Ministry of Education’s supposed stance of neutrality. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Feb 26 pointed out that lessons related to the conflict are designed primarily to help […]

SINGAPORE: Sometimes I find myself wishing I was raising my kids in an earlier era. No, this is not a sop to simpler times gone by – with more gendered social scripts and much greater poverty. But, I wonder if there are ideas from the past we can revive and combine with our modern nous, […]