SINGAPORE - There is a way for the world’s nations to continue collaborating on science and technology, even amid global fragmentation caused by tensions between the United States and China, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Sketching what such a movement could look like in 2022, Dr Balakrishnan said: “It has to be multipolar, open, and rules-based. “I do not believe any self-respecting Asian country wants to be trapped, or to be a vassal, or worse to be a theatre for proxy battles. So, I am trying to make the argument for what the rest of the world wants.”
He said: “The absence of strategic trust will lead both sides to always assume the worst. conditions are set - they are a self-fulfilling and mutually escalatory dynamic. This will almost certainly lead to a mutually escalatory, vicious downward spiral.”