SINGAPORE: Small countries like Singapore and New Zealand can take concrete actions to shape the direction of global developments, and don’t have to be “passive bystanders”, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
He was speaking alongside New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between both nations in Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday (Oct 10).
“No one is quite clear how things will change in the foreseeable future, but the changes are real, and if the trends were to continue, then we will be in a very inhospitable environment for small economies,” said Mr Wong.
“But the thing is, we are not without agency. We do not have to be passive bystanders,” he added.
He said that both Singapore and New Zealand are worried about how the global order is evolving into one that is “more about might is right, and that's not going to be beneficial for small countries”.
“We worry that we see economic interdependencies being weaponised more and more and used as leverage for international negotiations,” he added.
“We're moving away from a system which we both have benefited from for decades; the system of multilateral rules.”
Singapore and New Zealand are two small and open economies that are looking to set more innovative and high standards for themselves, said Mr Wong.
“Usually, these standards are adopted by others; be it ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) or other groupings,” he said.
Mr Wong was responding to a question on how the Singapore-New Zealand CSP will be useful as a pathway to an ASEAN-New Zealand CSP.
He gave examples of bilateral or plurilateral agreements Singapore has signed with other countries, such as the The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement between 12 economies, and the Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), which builds trust and interoperability between countries’ digital systems.
Singapore last month announced it was part of a Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership between 13 other countries aimed at supporting open and fair trade.
“And these are setting new standards for ourselves and for the world, and we hope that these new standards in time to come will be adopted by ASEAN and perhaps by other groupings as well,” he said.
He said that the freshly inked CSP between Singapore and New Zealand will allow for more interactions between New Zealand and ASEAN.
“The initiatives that we have with one another are also useful as pathfinders for ASEAN and also for groupings outside of ASEAN,” he added.
Agreeing with Mr Wong, Mr Luxon said that the benefit of being a leader of a small country is that they can be agile and innovative.
“You can move with great speed and agility and pioneer and innovate and have a positive view on where we think the world can go, and we can model that out for others and encourage others to come and join us along the way as well,” he said.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between both nations in Auckland, New Zealand on Oct 10, 2025. (Photo: Screengrab/Prime Minister's Office YouTube)
Small economies can find ways that preserve the multilateral frameworks that matter, and can do so bilaterally, said Mr Wong.
Other than ASEAN and the CPTPP, regional groupings such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a regional economic forum that promotes free trade and investment, are ways to strengthen partnerships with other groupings, like the European Union.
“These are concrete actions that small economies like New Zealand and Singapore can take to shape the direction of these global developments,” he said.
“There are many things that big countries can do that we do not have control over. But there are some things we can do to influence matters as well.”
Mr Luxon said that in a world that is “increasingly giving way” from rules to power, small countries have agency.
“By working together in the way that we have, we can keep modelling out the standards that we want to see still affirmed in the world,” he said.
Mr Luxon also reflected on the longstanding trust between both nations.
"This is a frictionless arrangement and relationship ... It's one that we deeply enjoy, and our ministers on both sides have done some outstanding work building the relationships with each other, and then going to work to find solutions to challenges that we both have," he said.
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He was speaking alongside New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between both nations in Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday (Oct 10).
“No one is quite clear how things will change in the foreseeable future, but the changes are real, and if the trends were to continue, then we will be in a very inhospitable environment for small economies,” said Mr Wong.
“But the thing is, we are not without agency. We do not have to be passive bystanders,” he added.
He said that both Singapore and New Zealand are worried about how the global order is evolving into one that is “more about might is right, and that's not going to be beneficial for small countries”.
“We worry that we see economic interdependencies being weaponised more and more and used as leverage for international negotiations,” he added.
“We're moving away from a system which we both have benefited from for decades; the system of multilateral rules.”
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SMALL COUNTRIES CAN BE PATHFINDERS
Singapore and New Zealand are two small and open economies that are looking to set more innovative and high standards for themselves, said Mr Wong.
“Usually, these standards are adopted by others; be it ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) or other groupings,” he said.
Mr Wong was responding to a question on how the Singapore-New Zealand CSP will be useful as a pathway to an ASEAN-New Zealand CSP.
He gave examples of bilateral or plurilateral agreements Singapore has signed with other countries, such as the The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement between 12 economies, and the Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), which builds trust and interoperability between countries’ digital systems.
Singapore last month announced it was part of a Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership between 13 other countries aimed at supporting open and fair trade.
“And these are setting new standards for ourselves and for the world, and we hope that these new standards in time to come will be adopted by ASEAN and perhaps by other groupings as well,” he said.
He said that the freshly inked CSP between Singapore and New Zealand will allow for more interactions between New Zealand and ASEAN.
“The initiatives that we have with one another are also useful as pathfinders for ASEAN and also for groupings outside of ASEAN,” he added.
Agreeing with Mr Wong, Mr Luxon said that the benefit of being a leader of a small country is that they can be agile and innovative.
“You can move with great speed and agility and pioneer and innovate and have a positive view on where we think the world can go, and we can model that out for others and encourage others to come and join us along the way as well,” he said.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after signing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between both nations in Auckland, New Zealand on Oct 10, 2025. (Photo: Screengrab/Prime Minister's Office YouTube)
SMALL COUNTRIES HAVE AGENCY
Small economies can find ways that preserve the multilateral frameworks that matter, and can do so bilaterally, said Mr Wong.
Other than ASEAN and the CPTPP, regional groupings such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a regional economic forum that promotes free trade and investment, are ways to strengthen partnerships with other groupings, like the European Union.
“These are concrete actions that small economies like New Zealand and Singapore can take to shape the direction of these global developments,” he said.
“There are many things that big countries can do that we do not have control over. But there are some things we can do to influence matters as well.”
Mr Luxon said that in a world that is “increasingly giving way” from rules to power, small countries have agency.
“By working together in the way that we have, we can keep modelling out the standards that we want to see still affirmed in the world,” he said.
Mr Luxon also reflected on the longstanding trust between both nations.
"This is a frictionless arrangement and relationship ... It's one that we deeply enjoy, and our ministers on both sides have done some outstanding work building the relationships with each other, and then going to work to find solutions to challenges that we both have," he said.
Continue reading...