PM Lee on the Ukraine war, US-China relations and the region
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the war in Ukraine, US-China relations, Taiwan and Asean, among other topics, in a moderated dialogue with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, on Wednesday. Here are excerpts from the interview, which have been edited for brevity.
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Haass: I want to begin with the joint statement that was issued on the occasion of your meeting with President (Joe) Biden earlier this week. I want to quote one line in particular: "The war in Ukraine has a negative impact on the Indo-Pacific region." And just to begin, I would love to hear your explanation as to why that is so, and how?
PM Lee: It impacts the Asia-Pacific area at many levels. First of all, it damaged the international framework for law and order, and peace between countries. It violates the UN Charter, it endangers the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, especially small ones.