Singapore on Monday reaffirmed its “positive” ties with India and other countries which figured in a set of leaked United States' diplomatic cables on the city-state's relations with some of its neighbours.
A top Singapore official was quoted, in a cable, as telling U.S. officials in September 2009 that India's policy towards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was “stupid” and Japan was a big “loser” in the context of China's enhanced ties with ASEAN. Malaysia and some of its leaders were also seen in poor light in the comments attributed to some Singapore officials, one of whom praised China's “intelligent diplomacy in the region”.
Responding to questions from the media on these cables released by WikiLeaks, Singapore Foreign Ministry spokesman said the city-state “has long-standing, robust, and positive relationships with all countries in our region”. These ties “are built on a strong foundation of shared interests and mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas”. Countries “base relationships on their own interests and not [on] hearsay or gossip”, said the spokesman, without naming the states that came in for criticism from Singapore officials as quoted in the cables.
“Singapore takes leaks of confidential information very seriously and would not tolerate [them] here.”
