Dun Talk Cock Lah!: [Defending the Lion City] No matter how the Wind howls, the Mountain cannot bow to it.

Friday, December 2, 2016

[Defending the Lion City] No matter how the Wind howls, the Mountain cannot bow to it.

“No matter how the Wind howls, the Mountain cannot bow to it.”

As of 2 Dec 2016, China / Hong Kong have yet to provide any satisfactory reason to Singapore for detaining 9 Terrex ICVs on 23 Nov 2016.

This is despite of APL (the shipping firm contracted to ship the Terrex ICVs) meeting with the HK Customs authorities for 7 hours last Tue, 29 Nov, and at a second meeting on 1 Dec 2016.

I wonder if China realizes that the longer this fiasco drags out without any proper explanation, it actually makes China look really bad in the eyes of the international community.

If this whole thing was about having proper papers / permits / whatever-else-documentation-you-need/want, this would have been easily resolved before it ever made the news.

So really, IMO there are only two possible explanations.

One – The HK Customs are really, really badly ineffective / inefficient / incompetent.

But that’s very unlikely – given that (1) this is NOT the first time that Singapore’s military equipment has transit through its ports, and previous transits have had no problems. And (2) HK is also one of the world’s busiest ports. You don’t become one of the world’s busiest ports by being ineffective / inefficient / incompetent.

That means the only reasonable explanation is that China (or maybe some faction of the communist leadership) really wants to show Singapore/Taiwan/Hong Kong who’s the boss.

They want to let Singapore and the rest of the world know that they are damn buay song (unhappy) over Singapore's stand of respecting and upholding the primacy of international law (vis a vis the Hague Tribunal's South China Sea Ruling) when it comes to settling disputes.

And/or maybe some of these communist ~~'s balls~~ comrades are itching to stir up some communistic fervor in hopes of scoring some brownie points with the Communist President.

But whatever China’s rational/irrational reasons are, I do wonder if China realizes how big a ~~dick~~ moron this incident makes them to be before the international community?

If this incident is over the fact that Singapore continues to have direct defence relations with Taiwan, then it is all the more puzzling.

Singapore has not changed its stance on the One China Principle since establishing diplomatic ties in 1990. Nor has it attempted to hide its relations with Taiwan over defence matters.

In 1990, the then Chinese Premier Li Peng said Beijing would not be "too disturbed" by the Republic's continued use of military training facilities in Taiwan after the establishment of Sino-Singapore ties.Mr Li had said at a news conference: "We sympathise with Singapore's position and understand its need to build a strong defence force. On this matter, suitable arrangements will be made. (Reference)

If China continues to drag this fiasco on without providing a valid reason, legal or otherwise, for the detention of our Terrex ICVs, then China will only be hurting themselves in the long run.

The Chinese President had said at the UN General Assembly in 2015, “The big, strong and rich should not bully the small, weak and poor. Big countries should treat small countries as equals, and take a right approach to justice and interests by putting justice before interests.” (Reference)

China seems to have conveniently forgotten what it had said before the world.

The incident will show that China can, and will take arbitrary action when it pleases or deems it profitable to do so without regard to international law and justice.

It will show China as a shallow-minded nation who does not value sincere friendships and loyalties, and is only interested in fair-weather friends who are willing to acquiesce to China in exchange for benefits.

It will prove that China will be a vindictive power, who believes that might makes right, and therefore all other countries must bow in deference to China’s whims and fancies.

President Xi’s often repeated assurances to the world that China will be a peaceful nation and will not pose as a threat will start to ring hollow.

After all, if China can callously coerce/pressure Singapore, whose relationship China labels as “special and unique”, over simple issues that do not agree with China, then what assurances do other countries have that they will be dealing with China in good faith?

No one would trust or believe the word of China any more.

As for Singapore, it cannot, will not, bow to external pressure and intimidation when it comes to issues that pertain to Singapore’s sovereignty and interests. Neither will it allow itself to be made use of as a pawn in someone else's geopolitical game.

As Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikanputs it: