When Singapore starts to worry about Washington

This year’s State of South-east Asia Survey contains a striking result: Singapore, long regarded as one of Washington’s closest and most pragmatic partners in the region, is now among the most uneasy about US leadership under President Donald Trump. It does not suggest that Singapore is turning against the US. Rather, it reflects growing discomfort with an America that remains strategically important, but is increasingly seen as less predictable on trade, less reassuring on international rules and less stable as an anchor of regional order.

The survey published by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute drew on the perspectives of 246 respondents from Singapore. They represented a broad cross-section of informed stakeholders from academia and research, government, the private sector, civil society and media, and regional or international organisations. The unease of these stakeholders is borne out across several key questions in the survey. Among all ASEAN countries, Singapore respondents registered the highest level of concern about US leadership under President Trump, with 76.8 per cent identifying it as a top geopolitical concern.