China snubs S'pore trade delegation, quarrel deepens
China snubs S'pore trade delegation, quarrel deepens
Jason Szep, Reuters/Singapore
A diplomatic spat between China and Singapore deepened on
Wednesday after Beijing delayed an invitation to a Singaporean
trade delegation to protest a visit by Singapore's future prime
minister to Taiwan.
Beijing has responded with fury since Lee Hsien Loong, who
will become prime minister next month, met Taiwan's leaders from
July 10 to 12 in a visit that Singapore insists was unofficial
but which Beijing has said has consequences.
Analysts, however, said the diplomatic row was unlikely to
affect trade or business ties.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified Singapore it was
"delaying" an invitation to National Development Minister Mah Bow
Tan to lead a delegation to Chengdu in western Sichuan province
from July 28 to 30, a Singapore government official said.
The snub follows Beijing's decision last week to cancel a trip
by its central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, to Singapore, where
he had been due to speak at the wealthy city-state's central
bank, which Lee heads as chairman.
Still, analysts say Beijing's actions appear mostly symbolic
and business ties look strong, noting a multi-million dollar deal
announced on Wednesday by a Singapore-based company to buy 30
percent of China's largest ship repair company Cosco Shipyard.
SembCorp Marine Ltd., which is partly owned by the Singapore
government, bought the stake for US$30 million from China Ocean
Shipping Co, China's largest shipper.
"In terms of the response, it hasn't really been too severe
from an economic standpoint. Although they are stopping people
from speaking engagements, etc, real life goes on," said Song
Seng Wun, an economist at stockbroker GK Goh in Singapore.
"That SembCorp Marine-COSCO deal still went ahead," he said.
"This issue will settle down after a while."
In Beijing, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said:
"Under the current situation, the exchanges between China and
Singapore will be affected unavoidably."
Mah's Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee was to
attend a ground-breaking ceremony for a township built by a
Singapore company and to meet local leaders, the Singapore
government official said.
China is Singapore's second-largest trading partner, with two-
way trade totaling nearly US$40 billion last year.
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be
brought back to the fold, by force if necessary, and is angered
by any contacts that could be interpreted as recognizing the
existence of a separate status for the democratic island.
In Taiwan, Lee dined with President Chen Shui-bian and met
opposition Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan and Taipei mayor Ma
Ying-jeou. Beijing refuses to deal with Chen, who has espoused
an independent Taiwan but ruled out any immediate steps toward
independence.
Singapore's prime minister-in-waiting, now deputy prime
minister, defended his visit last week, saying to call it off at
Beijing's request "would have undermined our right to make
independent decisions, and damaged our international standing".
Lee, who will replace Goh Chok Tong as prime minister on Aug.
12, said he wanted to understand "first-hand how the Taiwanese
saw things" before taking office.
Singapore maintains a "one-China" policy, which defines Taiwan
as part of China and opposes independence for Taiwan. Lee has
said his visit did not change or contradict the policy.
Lee's father, Singapore founder and Senior Minister Lee Kuan
Yew, has maintained close ties with China and Taiwan and hosted
ice-breaking talks for them in Singapore in 1993.