Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia draw closer
Add BT as a preferred sourceBilateral relations lie at the heart of international politics, and never more so than when they involve two neighbouring states. Friends (and enemies) come and go, but neighbours last. No country can choose its neighbours any more than they can choose it. This is why Singapore's improving relations with Malaysia and Indonesia at the same time are a source of hope, not only for the three countries but for Asean as a whole and its relations with the United States and China.
Malaysia first. At the end of November last year, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob visited Singapore and suggested reviving discussions on the terminated Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project. Singapore and Malaysia had reached an agreement on the termination, and the issue had been amicably settled and closed, but Singapore said in November that it is open to fresh proposals fromMalaysia.
There is no need to revisit the winding HSR saga here to believe that the overture from Malaysia could restore some of the bilateral trust that its abrogation of the project had undermined earlier. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's conciliatory response to his Malaysian counterpart's efforts to renew bilateral ties with an eye to mutual benefit underscored Singapore's consistent position that the two countries enjoy a long-standing, broad and multifaceted relationship.
