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3 takeaways from Singapore leaders’ blockbuster foreign policy speeches

Major speeches by PM Wong and SM Lee offer a clear-eyed view on global transition and commitment to multilateralism, and link political stability to diplomatic strength.

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Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke a dialogue with union leaders on April 14,

The speeches – first by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 14, then by PM Lawrence Wong on April 16 – are meaty enough to be studied from various angles.

PHOTOS: MDDI, MARK CHEONG

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If this were a routine April – not the tense run-up to what could be a bruising general election – the back-to-back heavyweight foreign policy speeches from Singapore’s top two political leaders would still have those who watch the Republic closely sitting up and taking notice.

Singapore’s friends and partners near and far are surely watching for clues about how the long-time stewards of this city-state – resource-poor and smaller than New York City – intend to navigate the accelerating decline of the world order under which it has risen to become one of the world’s wealthiest, most stable societies with the ability to underwrite its own defence.

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