Singapore raises concern over Chinese aggression in South China Sea

Taking stock of increased military drills by China post US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large at Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday raised the issue of Beijing's aggression in the region. Speaking to ANI about the Singapore-ASEAN concerns on aggressive Chinese policies, the Singapore diplomat said, "From our perspective and South Asia's, we have just found a way to negotiate, and compromise. I think that's a way forward."

Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Beijing considers Taiwan an unalienable part of its sovereign territory and opposes any official contact between the island and other countries.

Beijing has said that the 'One-China' principle is a political foundation of China-US ties and that violations of these obligations would jeopardise cooperation between the two countries. Notably, the heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait have affected the shipping industry and international companies dealing with business in this part of the world.

"There must be a conclusion, otherwise we cannot reassure our shipping community, international companies dealing with business in this part of the world. I think the important thing now is that both sides have to sit down and go through all the possible scenarios and options and then have a commonsensical conclusion. If they maintain their respective position, we cannot get any conclusion," said Ong. For China, the presence of a senior American figure in Taiwan would indicate some kind of US support for Taiwan's independence.

As per the Chinese official statement, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan would "severely undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and send a seriously wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces. Chinese Foreign Ministry had said China would take "resolute and strong measures" if the visit takes place.

As an immediate reaction to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China imposed sanctions on the United States House Speaker for her visit to Taiwan. It suspended eight key dialogue mechanisms with the US. It also suspended bilateral talks on climate change, repatriation of illegal immigrants, legal assistance in criminal matters, transnational crimes, and counter-narcotics.

Further, in addition to the military measures, China has so far put in place modest economic curbs such as barring more than 100 Taiwanese exporters. This also includes a suspension of fish, fruit and sand imports, which account for a small portion of two-way trade.