Singapore to push for deeper ASEAN integration, wider partnerships as bloc chair in 2027: Vivian Balakrishnan — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Vivian Balakrishnan told the Milken Institute Asia Summit on Oct 7 that Singapore will push for deeper economic integration within ASEAN and wider partnerships beyond the bloc when it takes over as chair in 2027, framing success as making 'the whole is more than the sum of the parts.'
- Balakrishnan outlined a 'trans-Pacific strategy' extending partnerships beyond ASEAN's 10 traditional dialogue partners to include Africa, South America, the Pacific Islands and Canada.
- Singapore accounts for about one in 10 chips made worldwide, and Taiwanese-Dutch joint venture VSMC opened an S$8.5 billion wafer fabrication plant there last month to serve surging AI, electrification, and industrial automation demand.
- Balakrishnan said Singapore would 'refuse to choose' between the US and China, arguing that 'the moment you choose, in fact, you've lost strategic options,' and would instead maintain trust with both powers.
- Balakrishnan, who has personally built AI agents using open-source tools, warned that autonomous agents pose a real 'loss of control' threat, and that rogue state and non-state actors could use the technology to develop new chemistry and biology weapons of mass destruction.
- ASEAN growth is being driven by AI, semiconductors, and technology, with Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia recording high growth rates and 'great growth potential in the next 20 years,' according to Balakrishnan, while the Philippines currently holds the rotating chair.
Why it matters: Singapore's 2027 chair vision puts a 'trans-Pacific' partnership push — covering Africa, South America, the Pacific Islands and Canada — at the center of its agenda just as AI and semiconductor demand reshape the region's growth story. Balakrishnan's explicit 'refuse to choose' stance on the US-China rivalry gives ASEAN diplomatic cover to deepen ties with both powers while broadening its external network beyond its traditional dialogue partners.
Ask SkimNews
