Political Apathy, Soft Authoritarianism, and Singapore’s Perspectives on the South China Sea

Abstract

This chapter examines Singapore’s perspectives on the South China Sea as a non-claimant country. It focuses on why Singapore has not changed its long-standing perspectives, despite the rise of global populism and pressure from major power competition between China and the USA between 2016 and 2019. By examining the structure of Singapore’s domestic political economy, the chapter makes three arguments: (1) Singapore’s perspectives on the South China Sea are driven by its national interests set by the state, which has firm control over foreign policy; (2) there is bipartisan support for the state’s foreign policy. Singaporeans will generally support the country’s foreign policy but pay little attention to it because of their disinterest in politics and lack of knowledge of international affairs; (3) Singapore has not been affected by the wave of populist movements because of the resilience of Singapore state. It concludes that Singapore’s perspectives on the South China Sea will remain consistent for the foreseeable future as there is no serious impetus for a shift or major change in Singapore’s fundamental foreign policy principles.