China–Singapore relations

Historic links between the two nations' people began much earlier than the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949. Most early Chinese migrants came as labourers to what was known as Nanyang to escape poverty and war. Many ethnic Chinese Singaporeans derived their ancestral roots in southern China from Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan.[18]

Many ethnic Chinese people in Malaya and Singapore had supported China in the Second Sino-Japanese War (that became a part of the Second World War). This support extended to aiding the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party against the Japanese. Much like the Viet Minh, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army guerrilla force turned into the Malayan National Liberation Army, associated with the Malayan Communist Party. The Malayan National Liberation Army fought in the Malayan Emergency and the Second Malayan Emergency as communist guerrillas, and China was accused of exporting revolution to Southeast Asia during this time.[19] China's support for the Malayan Communist Party ended when Malaysia and China established diplomatic relations in 1974.

The ethnic Chinese people were major supporters of the Malayan Communist Party, and Chinese-language secondary schools and Nanyang University were viewed hotbeds of communism (see Operation Cold Store and Chinese middle schools riots). Because of this association, Nanyang University was reorganised. It eventually merged with the University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore.[20][21]

Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore was very careful to avoid giving any impression to the other countries in Southeast Asia that Singapore, three-quarters ethnic Chinese, was a "Third China" (the first two being the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China). This was due to Singapore's experience with communists, the backdrop of the ongoing Vietnam War, as well as domestic political considerations. As a result, Singapore did not establish diplomatic relations with China until the other countries in Southeast Asia had decided they wanted to do so, to avoid portraying a pro-China bias.[22][19] His official visits to China starting in 1976 were conducted in English, to assure other Southeast Asian countries that he represented Singapore, and not a "Third China".[23]

During this period, Lee believed in the need to resist communism as part of the domino theory.[24] Between the failure of the British to defend Singapore in the Second World War and the belief that the United States was too war-weary to defend Singapore from communism, Lee welcomed American presence in the region to act as a counterweight to the Soviet Union and China.[22]

In the 1970s, People's Republic of China and Singapore began unofficial relations.[25] This led to the exchange of Trade Offices between the two nations in September 1981.[26] In 1985, commercial air services between mainland China and Singapore commenced.[1]

Diplomatic ties between the two countries officially began in 1990. On 3 October 1990, Singapore revised diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. The relationship between Singapore and the PRC has since improved significantly.[27] In 2004, shortly before the current Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong took office from the then incumbent Goh Chok Tong, he made a visit to Taiwan to familiarise himself with the latest developments there.[28] Bilateral ties took a dive.[29] The People's Republic of China took offence to the trip due to the complicated political status of the region[29] Later in 2004, Chinese government put bilateral relations on hold.[30] In his maiden National Day Rally speech, Lee criticised the Taiwanese leadership and populace of overestimating the support they would receive if they were to declare Taiwan independence;[31]

Singapore was the last country in Southeast Asia, to formally recognise the People's Republic of China.[32] Singapore still maintains unofficial relations with the Republic of China, including the continuation of a controversial military training and facilities agreement from 1975.[33] This is due to a lack of usable space in built-up Singapore.[33] The People's Republic of China has officially offered Singapore to shift its training facilities from Taiwan to Hainan Island,[33][34][35] with official annual military exercises known as Exercise Starlight (星光計畫)[36] in Taiwan.

Relations between the two countries gradually improved as China and Singapore forged agreements in free trade, education, foreign investment, modern armament and technology.[1] Examples are the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, which were constructed with the help of Singapore.

While Singapore is not a party to the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, it has an interest in the outcome of these disputes since they have implications for international law, freedom of navigation, and ASEAN unity.[37] In 2016, China's Global Times accused Singapore of supporting the Philippines v. China ruling in favour of the Philippines during the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Venezuela, based on unnamed sources.[38] The Global Times' account was disputed by Singapore's ambassador to China, Stanley Loh.[39] Thereafter, Yin Jinnan of the PLA National Defence University commented that "Beijing should make Singapore pay the price for seriously damaging China's interests" with retaliations and sanctions".[40]

In November 2016, nine Singapore Army Terrex ICV armoured personnel carriers and associated equipment were seized by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal (formerly Kwai Chung Container Terminal).[41] The vehicles and equipment were being shipped back to Singapore from Taiwan after a military exercise in Taiwan. The shipment was seized because American President Lines (APL), the private shipping company engaged by the Singapore military to handle the shipment, did not have the appropriate permits for the vehicles equipment.[42] The shipment was later moved to the Hong Kong Customs depot at Hong Kong River Trade Terminal and kept indoors since 6 December 2016. This was Hong Kong's biggest seizure of such equipment in the past twenty years.[43][44] In January 2017, 2 months after the Terrex APC vehicles were detained, Hong Kong Customs announced that the military vehicles would be returned to Singapore. Commissioner of the Customs and Excise Department, Roy Tang Yun-kwong, said that shipping company American President Lines would likely face criminal charges over the incident for suspected breach of the Hong Kong Law.[45]

Some observers believe that Chinese attitudes toward Singapore are changing, in that they now know not to assume Singapore's support on international issues on the basis of ethnicity.[46]

Chinese people have immigrated to what is known as Singapore since Zheng He's voyages in the 15th century; those early immigrants integrated into the host societies, and their descendants are now known as Peranakans. Modern Chinese immigration is defined here as that occurring after Singapore's independence in 1965. Chinese immigrants to Singapore range from university students, skilled and unskilled labourers, professionals, and investors.

The majority of Singaporeans are ethnic Chinese (74.3% in 2015[64]), causing some people in China to view Singapore as a Chinese society that should consequently be sympathetic to China's interests.[65][66] Addressing and coordinating mutual interests and expectations has always been central to the China–Singapore relations from their first government-to-government contacts. In fact, in one these early meetings, Chinese officials spoke of their affinity toward visiting Singaporean officials, referring to the latter as "kinsmen", to which Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew remarked, while acknowledging "a very special relationship", "We are different like the New Zealanders and the Australians are different from the British. Well, I think I am very intrigued by that word 'kinsmen' because it implies a special empathy, and I have no ideological empathy. Therefore, I hope the empathy will be in some other field like economic development or comparing notes on how we could help each other’s economies."[22] More recently, some people from China have taken to describing Singapore as "Po County" (坡县), comparing it with a county of China. This reference is made by some Chinese people due to cultural similarities and is intended as an endearing nickname.[67]

The Singaporean Chinese today are largely Singapore-born and bred with the exception of some first-generation Chinese, and have no loyalty to either the People's Republic of China or to the Republic of China.[68] Singapore is especially sensitive to racial strife due to past riots (see list of riots in Singapore),[69] so Singapore's nation-building efforts have focused on building a multicultural Singaporean identity at the expense of Singaporeans' ethnic identities.[70]

The differing Singaporean and Chinese expectations lead to misunderstandings when China and Singapore's foreign policies are in conflict, described above. These misunderstandings also occur when Chinese citizens migrate to Singapore and conflict with the existing multicultural Singapore-centric society.[71] Examples of this conflict include a curry dispute that pointed to an immigrant family's difficulty with accepting the local culture,[72] an illegal bus driver strike in 2013 that challenged Singapore's sense of law and order,[73] and a traffic collision by a Chinese immigrant driving at 178 km/h killing several people that angered Singaporeans.[74] Some Singaporeans view these instances as manifestations of Chinese immigrants' lack of respect of the local culture, and an unwillingness to integrate.[75] Similar criticisms have been made of Indian immigrants.[76] Such views have been exacerbated by immigrants in general competing for opportunities and resources.[75]