‘So he is a debt collector, I presume’ — S’poreans react to US Ambassador implying that SG owes US for past help

SINGAPORE: Remarks made by the United States Ambassador to Singapore in a recent interview have raised more than a few eyebrows, with commenters online critical of his characterisation of the relations between the two countries when it comes to trade.

Anjani K Sinha, who is an orthopaedic surgeon by profession and who was handpicked for the job by President Donald Trump, arrived in Singapore early last month. He said in an email interview with The Straits Times that was published last weekend, “Over many decades, American taxpayers and service members have underwritten regional security, playing an important role in making Singapore’s economic miracle possible.”

He added that the US is now asking its “friends to help us rebalance the economy,” expressing confidence that the US-Singapore business and economic relationship would continue to grow.

When Mr Trump announced higher tariffs in April, it sent shockwaves across the world, including Singapore. In response, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sounded a sober note as he warned that trade-reliant Singapore could be hit by the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs more than other countries.

Dr Sinha’s suggestion that Singapore somehow owes the United States for having helped the city-state in the past understandably did not go over too well with netizens, given that the US also benefited from its policies.

“So he is a debt collector, I presume…,” a Facebook user wrote.

Another pointed out that other countries had also helped with the Singapore “miracle,” such as China, Japan, and nations in Southeast Asia.

“We repay by being a principled and neutral nation, not by giving personal favours to specific countries,” they added.

In another comment, they pointed out, “In the US-Singapore relationship, Singapore benefits more simply due to the differences in size, but I reject the implication that the US is doing all this out of generosity. It is self-serving, just as all nations are. Part of its global strategy is to get nations on its side against its rivals, and that includes Singapore and the SEA region. China is doing the same. Nations at SEA are well aware of this tussle by the two superpowers to gain our favour.”

On Reddit, a user on the platform noted, “We have paid back in kind. We have been providing a stable base for US companies to do business in Asia. We have been buying American defence systems. SIA has been buying Boeing jets. The US has a trade surplus with Singapore.”

Some commenters, meanwhile, reminded others of the grilling Dr Sinha received from Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth when he was being vetted for the position.

Ms Duckworth had asked Dr Sinha a series of questions regarding Singapore’s economy, the US Navy’s work with Singapore, and when the city-state would chair ASEAN, which he visibly struggled to answer.

This resulted in the Senator telling him, “You are not taking this seriously. You think this is a glamour posting. You think that you’re going to live a nice life in Singapore, but what we need is someone who’s actually going to do the work.” /TISG

Read also: Anjani K Sinha, Donald Trump’s pick for Ambassador, arrives in SG