U.S. - Singapore Relationship

There is little doubt that the broader Asia-Pacific region will have a profound impact on the people and the economy of the United States, and the rest of the world. That is why, at the very outset of his Administration, President Barack Obama made a strategic decision to increase the United States’ focus on this area.

U.S. - Singapore Relationship

As part of this rebalance approach, the United States has made a deliberate effort to strengthen existing alliances and build new partnerships throughout the region that can help solve shared challenges.

Singapore is one of the oldest and closest partners the United States has in the Asia-Pacific. The United States recognized Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965 and has had formal diplomatic relations with Singapore since 1966.

Today, the United States and Singapore have a comprehensive relationship with productive cooperation on economic, political, and security issues. Singapore's support for regional cooperation harmonizes with U.S. policy in the region, forming a solid basis for excellent relations between the two countries.

Indeed, some of the cooperative efforts between the U.S. and Singapore have had a region-wide impact. As Secretary of State John Kerry said:

“We have had a free trade agreement with Singapore for some period of time now, and that really was the precursor to the thinking about the TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, where again, Singapore has been deeply engaged, very involved in helping to shape it, showing leadership for which we are very appreciative.”

On May 12th, Secretary of State John Kerry and Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam met in Washington to discuss a number of issues that concern both parties.

“One of the most recent [challenges] is the Chinese challenge to the Paracel Islands,” said Secretary Kerry. “We want to see a code of conduct created; we want to see this resolved peacefully through the Law of the Sea, through arbitration, through any other means, but not direct confrontation and aggressive action.”

As President Obama said in his speech before the Australian parliament in 2011, “the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future, by upholding core principles and in close partnership with our allies and friends.”