Biden eyes Asia challenges in Singapore PM’s visit

US President Joe Biden, back from a
high-stakes trip to Europe focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, hosts the
prime minister of Singapore Tuesday in a chance to address crucial US
challenges across Asia.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will meet Biden in the Oval Office at 10:35
am (1435 GMT), and the two leaders will later make a joint media appearance.

The get-together will hand Biden a welcome opportunity to delve into
Washington’s long-touted “pivot to Asia.”

“We are very happy” to host Lee, a senior US official said, “because we
believe that the US-Singapore strategic partnership is extremely strong and
valuable to both countries, and it has supported peace and prosperity
throughout the Indo-Pacific.”

The Biden administration has repeatedly characterized the Asia-Pacific
region, and particularly the rise of communist China, as the number one
strategic issue for the United States.

The world’s two biggest economies are at loggerheads over trade, human
rights and, more broadly, what Biden often portrays as a defining struggle in
the 21st century between the globe’s autocracies and democracies.

But concerns about China have been pushed to the back burner by the
emergency in Europe, where Russia’s military is in its second month of
attacking neighboring, pro-Western Ukraine in a crisis more reminiscent of
the Cold War.

Even the alarming acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear program —
including testing an intercontinental ballistic missile last week — has been
overshadowed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody campaign.

– Ukraine invasion looms –

Inevitably, when Lee meets Biden, Ukraine will loom large.

Singapore announced in February it was joining other pro-Western powers in
imposing sanctions on Russia, including blocking financial transactions.

The wealthy city-state rarely sanctions other countries without UN
backing, but Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan cited the
“unprecedented gravity” of the crisis.

“The president and prime minister will be meeting at a very critical time,
one in which the rules-based international order faces (an) unprecedented
challenge,” the US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which Putin says he wants to “demilitarize,”
has deeply shocked US allies beyond Europe, including Australia and Japan.

The US official said Putin’s shredding of international borders “poses a
threat not only for Europe, but also for the Indo-Pacific.”

But while the official described Singapore and other regional powers as
“stepping up,” India has pointedly refused to condemn Russia’s war, while
Western officials fear China could actively help the Russians.

The White House says that when discussion turns to China, Biden will raise
“efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific” — shorthand for the US-led
campaign to push back against Chinese expansion into disputed waters and
international sea lanes.

“The US-Singapore security partnership is very, very important to the
United States,” the US official said.

AFP