Upholding multilateralism crucial in new era: Vivian

The world is entering a dangerous period with the established world order in upheaval and a new era being born, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said yesterday.

As new norms, rules and expectations emerge, countries can work to create a more peaceful, stable and prosperous world by upholding multilateralism, promoting economic integration and redoubling efforts to safeguard the global commons, he added.

At the South China Morning Post's China Conference, which was held virtually, the US-China rivalry and Russia's invasion of Ukraine loomed large as senior government officials, business leaders and China watchers discussed the most pressing issues.

Dr Balakrishnan, who delivered the keynote speech, said the war in Ukraine and, to a smaller extent, the Covid-19 pandemic have truly marked the end of the post-World War II system of global economic integration and a rules-based international order.

At the same time, these developments are taking place amid the ongoing US-China strategic rivalry, which could be inadvertently complicated by the conflict in Ukraine.

Dr Balakrishnan said it would be disastrous for both powers to focus on extreme competition, or even confrontation, adding that the old Cold War strategy of containment will not be viable in the emerging multi-polar world.

"How the US and China both will compete and cooperate will determine not just their trajectories but indeed that of the rest of us in the world," he added. Given the shift to a multi-polar international system, the world needs to find a new modus vivendi, he said.

"How we react to and manage these dynamics, or shape the international world order, will impact our ability to safeguard the global commons and to deliver concrete real outcomes for our citizens."

He suggested that countries should, first, uphold multilateralism and international law.

The open, inclusive and rules-based multilateral order gives small states an equal voice, and allows all states, even those with disagreements, to work within a common set of rules.

Singapore, as a tiny city, state and island, is thus by definition an "ardent advocate" for international agreements such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, he added.

Second, the world should strive for economic integration and interdependence, he said.

The alternative is a hard and sharp bifurcation, which will lead to slower progress, higher costs and less inhibitions against quarrels getting out of hand, as fewer interconnected interests are at stake, Dr Balakrishnan warned.

In the Asia-Pacific, home to some of the largest plurilateral trade agreements, trade is strategy, he said. Asean and China should continue to enhance the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement and Air Transport Agreement, he added.

On the new modus vivendi, Dr Balakrishnan said, lastly, that the world needs to manage the global commons more effectively, such as the areas of public health, the climate crisis, the oceans, the digital revolution and outer space.

He urged countries to start small with bilateral or plurilateral arrangements and then build on them. Global institutions established to serve the common interests of mankind, such as the World Trade Organisation, World Health Organisation and the UN, also need to be fortified, he added.

But the prerequisite to meaningful international cooperation is good governance at home, he said.

"When the home front is covered, governments will then have the requisite domestic political capital to cooperate, to compromise, to build consensus, and to contribute to a more prosperous and stable world order."