As the proverb goes: "Big fish eat small fish. Small fish eat shrimps."From time memorial, that was the order of nature, said Mr Lee Kuan Yew in a speech in 1966 on big and small fishes in Asian waters. ...
But there are various types of shrimps, he also said. They develop defence mechanisms to stay alive. Some shrimps are poisonous. They sting. If you eat them, you will get digestive upsets. They are just not palatable and they are left alone.
And this was how Mr Lee defined Singapore's international strategy: that of a poisonous shrimp.
CO-EXISTING WITH BIG POWERS
A shrimp might be small but its poison could pose a threat to the big fish in international oceans, and so it will not be eaten by the big fish and can co-exist with them. And this is how small Singapore can co-exist with big powers.
It is a balancing strategy. And Singapore's geopolitical vulnerability has a lasting effect on its foreign policy.
Singapore's foreign policy is driven by PRAGMATISM, not ideology or doctrine. It's only lodestar for guidance is the security and prosperity of Singapore.
It begins with SELF-RELIANCE, the belief that the world does not owe us a living and we rely, first and foremost, on ourselves. This is why Singapore has never sought foreign aid from developed countries. This belief in self-reliance is what led to the 'poisonous shrimp' strategy - the ability to deter aggression.
Singapore's foreign policy is rooted in REALISM, the realism that as a small country, we have to take the world as it is and not as we would like it to be. This realism, however, is not a fatalistic attitude. Singapore is constantly seeking to change the status quo for the better.
Singapore supports the United States' continued presence in South-east Asia, but does not wish to see bad relations between China and the US.
Singapore believes that its own security is best served through various regional cooperation mechanisms among all stakeholders in the region including China, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
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