Why Singapore says it must engage both China and Japan despite rising tensions

Speaking to Singapore media on March 28 at the end of a trip to Hainan and Hong Kong, Wong said Beijing and Tokyo remain central players in the region’s economy and security architecture. China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner, while Japan is among its top investors, he noted, adding that Singapore wants both countries involved “not just bilaterally, but also in shaping regional affairs”.

Wong’s comments came after a week of high-level diplomacy that placed Singapore in the middle of competing strategic relationships. He attended the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, where he delivered a keynote speech describing China as an important factor in building a more resilient global order. 

The China visit followed his first official trip to Japan as prime minister earlier in March, during which the two countries upgraded their ties to a strategic partnership, with cooperation planned in areas such as artificial intelligence and the green transition.

He said the back-to-back visits were not designed as a coordinated signal. The Japan trip had originally been planned for 2025 but was postponed, while the Boao invitation arrived separately. The timing ultimately worked out, he said, and allowed him to engage both partners in quick succession.

Ties between China and Japan have been deteriorating, including sharp rhetoric over Taiwan and signs Tokyo may be preparing to downgrade relations with Beijing. Wong said Singapore recognises the relationship is in a “difficult phase”, but insisted it does not see diplomacy as a zero-sum game.

Singapore’s approach, he said, is to maintain “many friends” and avoid taking sides in major-power rivalries.