PUBLISHED ONMay 28, 2026 1:05 PMUPDATED34 minutes agoBYSean LerAmid what he described as volatile and dangerous times — when supply chains are at risk and old partnerships are being eroded — Singapore has to look for new opportunities and broaden its network of partners, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
And to do so, the country must be relevant and resilient.
Dr Balakrishnan made these comments to the media on Thursday (May 28) as he wrapped up a five-day working visit to three North-east Asian countries — China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea. DPRK is North Korea's official name.
The foreign minister kicked off the month with a four-day working visit to the Middle East on May 2.
During his Gulf visit, Dr Balakrishnan discussed issues relating to energy security and reaffirmed the importance of free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Upon his return, Dr Balakrishnan accompanied Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to attend the 48th Asean Summit in Cebu, before visiting Indonesia from May 11 to 13.
There, the two foreign ministers took stock of the state of bilateral cooperation between their countries.
Dr Balakrishnan also thanked his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono for the "significant risk" undertaken by Indonesian rescuers during the search for Singaporeans at Mount Dukono.
Prior to the visit to the three North-east Asian countries — which ended on Thursday — the minister also made a working visit to Panama, Guyana and Suriname.
Contextualising these visits, Dr Balakrishnan highlighted that small states like Singapore have to look for new avenues for growth and for supplies given the present situation.
"We live at a time of great global volatility. Disruption to supply chains, exploitation of choke points, war, and confrontations. This is a dangerous time, and particularly for small states like Singapore.
"We depend on trade, we depend on supply chains being reliable, we depend on resilience," he explained, adding that such trips are necessary to broaden partnerships, deepen integration, and to look for new avenues for growth and supplies.
On his visit to the South American countries, Dr Balakrishnan shared that while Guyana and Suriname may not be immediately intuitive to Singaporeans, it is where, there have been new or additional discoveries of offshore oil and gas.
Noting their potential to be major sources of energy in the future, the minister said the visits presented "a good opportunity" for Singapore to broaden its networks.
@asiaone In a time of volatility and disruption, Singapore has to shore up partnerships and secure new growth opportunities. To do so, the country must be relevant, resilient, constructive and consistent, said Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday (May 28). #sgnews #Singapore #ForeignPolicy #Trade #Economy ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Turning to the issue of rivalry between major powers and its implication on Singapore, Dr Balakrishnan noted that China and the US have come up with the term "constructive relationship of strategic stability" to describe their current status.
But he cautioned that it would be complacent to assume the underlying strategic rivalry and competition are gone.
"From time to time, there may be miscalculations, there may be misunderstandings, which can lead to the rivalry even extending to near conflict. We need to understand that those underlying tectonic forces remain," he said.
For Singapore, which has vital interests in the overall functioning of a system of globalisation based on rules and international law, we must be "exquisitely sensitive" and be constructive, while being resilient, Dr Balakrishnan added.
On the country's engagements with superpowers, middle powers, and its immediate neighbours, the minister said Singapore takes a realistic view — focused on widening partnerships, looking for new sources of supplies, new markets for its goods and services, and maintaining lines of communications — even if views differ or diverge.
"For Singapore, being relevant, being resilient, being constructive and consistent are attributes of our foreign policy.
"Even in a changing world, and with many new challenges and opportunities, we need to stay true to these principles and maintain these attributes of our foreign policy," Dr Balakrishnan explained.
Asked whether his visit to both the DPRK and South Korea could signal a mediating role for Singapore, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan stated that this is speculative.
"We are not putting our hand up to offer any role. Our relationship with DPRK is one based on friendship and mutual respect."
He reiterated that the visit to DPRK was at the its foreign minister's invitation to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties (in 2025), and to update himself with the developments there.
Dr Balakrishnan noted that Pyongyang has continued to grow and develop since he last visited in 2018.
"I saw new housing estates. It is a clean, modern, well-organised, well-planned city. People are busy getting on with their lives. It's a city which would fit in with any modern city throughout South-east Asia, or even North-east Asia, for that matter," he said.
But he also noted DPRK's current, outright, categorical rejection of reunification with South Korea, and that they are not keen on any engagements externally, including with the US.
"Instead, they are focusing on building up their own self-reliance as well as their own deterrence."
@asiaone North Korea is not looking for significant talks or engagements with the United States or South Korea, and is instead focused on building up their self-reliance and military deterrence, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan as he wrapped up a five-day visit to Northeast Asia on Thursday (May 28). #sgnews #Singapore #ForeignPolicy #NorthKorea #USA ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Despite this, Dr Balakrishnan said he invited his DPRK counterpart Choe Son Hui to attend the Asean Regional Forum, so that DPRK can be heard on the international stage.
On the minister's visit to South Korea from May 27 to 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement that Dr Balakrishnan and his counterpart Cho Hyun reaffirmed the strong and multi-faceted bilateral relationship between Singapore and South Korea.
MFA added that he also held separate engagements with National Security Director Wi Sung Lac, Unification Minister Chung Dong Young and National Assembly Member Lee Un Ju.
They held wide-ranging discussions on regional and international developments, including on the Middle East, US-China relations, developments in North-east Asia, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
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editor@asiaone.com