Honourable Minister Josephine Teo,
Many thanks for your kind introduction. Your first name reminds me to a very German first name with French original, obviously: Josephine. That sounds beautiful. So, many thanks for your kind introduction.
Professor Chan Heng Chee,
Distinguished guests,
German Ambassador,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted today to have the opportunity to address you on my visit to Singapore and to the Indo-Pacific region.
On behalf of the German delegation, many thanks for having us.We just travelled half the world, but there is a fundamental observation that holds true for Germany as well as for Singapore, Korea or Japan: we stand on the threshold of a new geopolitical era. This era will be shaped by new dynamics among great powers, by breathtaking technological revolutions extending far beyond artificial intelligence and by the erosion of an international order. This order has been forged, as you mentioned, over decades, but now we wittnes an erosion that is at odds with our fundamental values and interests.
These dynamics, which we are seeing, pose fundamental challenges to so-called “middle powers”, or capable powers, in Europe and in Asia. Our freedom, our sovereignty, our security and our prosperity are at stake.
The precarious nature of this situation is nowhere more evident today than in Ukraine. Russia is as a great power pursuing a militant, revisionist agenda. Russia invaded Ukraine, its neighbour, unprovoked and this sent shock waves not only to Europe but even through the Indo-Pacific. North Korea deploys troops to Ukraine and by doing so draws the region into the conflict. Chinese companies circumvent sanctions and weaken the international order. A permanent member of the Security Council – Russia – tramples on the Charter of the United Nations and poisons the global legal order.
Yet, this new era also brings opportunities. We now can open new doors, deepen ties and embark on new cooperations between Europe and Asia – in trade and technology, in security policy, and in the renewal of the international order. The new era is bringing us closer together than ever before. And despite of the distance, we are seeing ourselves more and more as neighbours.
In the Indo-Pacific, opportunities and challenges are abundantly clear. The region is generating exceptional economic and technological momentum. But it is also experiencing immense tectonic shifts and growing tensions. Major arteries of global trade run through the Indo-Pacific. In the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, security issues with global ramifications are at play.
In light of these upheavals, we – together - should aim to draw the right conclusions. My visit to Singapore, Korea and Japan is intended to contribute to this effort. The German Government’s approach is guided by four core principles. One: we invest in global alliances. Two: we strengthen our resilience. Three: we invest in the international order and four we pursue dialogue and diplomacy.
Now let me tell you in more detail what our priorities are.
First, we are investing in our global alliances. We are building a network of partners with whom we share core values and interests. There is no need to extend this jointness to every single issue. Not even the closest European neighbours agree on everything.
In the coming days, in addition to Singapore, I will also visit Japan and South Korea. These are three of our most important partners in the region. We are also forging closer ties with our partners in India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
This policy is long-term and strategic in nature. It is one of our most important responses to the new era. Together, Europe and the Indo-Pacific countries have considerable leverage in terms of security policy, economic strength and normative influence.
We protect and promote free and fair world trade. As European Union, we are setting up free trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Australia and Malaysia, to name only a few.
I do not want us to stop here. I want us to take the next step in trade policy. Let us align our bilateral trade agreements, so that our businesses can jointly leverage the benefits they offer. And let us work together towards a major interregional agreement with the Trans-Pacific partnership members.
This would mirror the realities of interconnected supply and production chains. We also would live up to the fact that Trans-Pacific partners and the European Union together account for more than a third of global trade.
In the long term, we seek an EU-ASEAN free-trade agreement. Next year’s, as you all know, the 50th anniversary of our relations provides fresh momentum. This is how we can build a new, stable trade order. Together, we will be more successful if we respond in a coordinated manner to violations of free and fair trade.
So let us, together with like-minded partners, draw closer in forging new alliances for rules-based trade.
We are creating networks in technology. We are bringing our research institutions and companies together so that they can seize the opportunities of the new era. Nowhere is this more apparent than in robotics and artificial intelligence. We jointly want to build capabilities in Frontier AI, high-performance computing infrastructure and information security.
For instance, the German company Schaeffler and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore are deepening their cooperation in humanoid robotics. Agile Robots, based in Munich, and Hitachi, based in Tokyo, are working to introduce physical AI into industrial production.
We are deepening our security cooperation for mutual benefit. Within NATO, we work closely with the Indo-Pacific Four, Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Our partners in the Indo-Pacific support Ukraine, and we are really grateful for this.
Despite the geographical distance, we face the very similar challenges.
Your security has a direct bearing on ours. Our security has a direct bearing on yours.
This is why we intend to expand our security and defence cooperation. The Singapore Army has been learning to operate the tank Leopard 2 at the Oberlausitz military training area. We are now taking our cooperation to a new level in agreements on submarines and cyber security. For example, Hensoldt and ST Engineering are working together to develop software-defined defence solutions.
We defend and develop international rules and rights. Take the framework of rules that safeguards fair competition. We want to bolster our commitment to maritime security and freedom of navigation, in the Strait of Hormuz as well as in the waterways of Asia. It is in this spirit that we are joining Singapore’s GUIDE initiative for the protection of undersea cables.
Finally, we promote closer links between our businesses and civil societies through German schools abroad, scholarships and university partnerships. This is especially tangible here in Singapore, home to the world’s largest German school abroad. It is no coincidence that the Technical University of Munich operates its own branch here, TUM Asia – its only campus outside Germany.
Japan is this season’s partner country at the Berliner Festspiele, while the Berliner Philharmoniker regard Suntory Hall in Tokyo as their second home. The soft power of the Korean Wave, from kimchi and BTS to BLACKPINK, reaches millions of young people in Germany. We want to foster these people-to-people ties.
So let’s take a look at our second principle: We are strengthening our own resilience. We are doing our homework – nationally, within the European Union and within NATO. We are doing so in both military and civilian spheres.
Within NATO, we have agreed to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP. We are strengthening our armed forces and security agencies. We are reinforcing defences to counter hybrid attacks. This makes us a strong and reliable partner for Asian countries as well.
In all of this, Singapore is a close partner. Take the agreement on defence supply chains between Singapore and Germany. Cooperations of this kind do reduce one-sided dependencies. They help us to preserve our freedom, our security and our prosperity in the new era.
At the European level, we are bracing against unfair competition. Together with France, we launched an initiative to this effect at the recent meeting of the European Council a couple of days ago. This initiative, to make it very clear, is not directed against any particular country; it is, as we are saying, “actor-agnostic”, “country-agnostic” by design. Its purpose is to protect our economies; it is not an aggressive instrument in any way. We are taking the necessary precautions to safeguard our legitimate interests when they are jeopardised by unfair practices.
And we are making our countries more resilient. We are reducing one-sided dependencies in energy supply, supply chains and critical raw materials. We are hardening our critical infrastructure by bolstering energy grids and building more secure 5G and 6G networks. We protect our constitutional order and democracy by defending ourselves against propaganda and cyberattacks.
In these unstable times, ladies and gentlemen, we are increasingly cooperating with our partners in the Indo-Pacific. For example, we are jointly protecting underwater infrastructure and participating in an initiative launched by Singapore, as I mentioned, to strengthen cooperation in this field.
Now our third principle: we are taking responsibility for the international order. This order must continue to be based on the strength of the law, not the law of the strong. We want to live in a world in which not only the powerful can claim sovereignty, security and prosperity for themselves. We want to preserve and renew the international order built over recent decades for all and everyone.
This is why we strive to renew and adapt it for the new era. We know that our Asian partners are at our side.
So we are convinced that we can only address global challenges by working together. No one, not even the most powerful, can do this alone. Free trade is only one crucial example; there are many others. And let me give an African saying at this point. There is this saying: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
We want to go together towards an international trading order based on peaceful relations and fair rules among equals. We want to preserve the ability to cooperate.
A new nationalism would lead us down the wrong path. Whatever its prophets may preach, it would in fact narrow our horizons and make us poorer and less secure.
This approach is guiding our work at the United Nations. Here, we remain a key player – as one of its largest financial contributors, as a steadfast partner in upholding shared values and as a driver for reform.
We take a stand where international law is violated. Yet, our capabilities are limited. Thus, we must and do prioritize. At the heart of Germany’s and Europe’s efforts is the pursuit of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. We know that Ukraine’s fate is being followed closely in Asia. The whole world will draw lessons. And the world must come to the same conclusion: Militant, imperialist revisionism does not pay off.
Our fourth principle is crucial as well: In times of growing tensions, we remain open to dialogue and diplomacy. For that, it is imperative to continue dialogue with the great powers, even where our interests and values only align in part.
This also applies to China. Our view of Beijing has become more nuanced. China’s pivotal role in world politics raises deep questions regarding trade, security and international order.
We have come to understand that dealing with these challenges is one of the major long-term strategic tasks for European diplomacy. We are addressing it with patience and a reliable compass.
Wise China policy begins at home. This principle holds true in the Indo-Pacific as much as in Europe. We will be better equipped to build balanced relations with China if we ourselves are united, strong, resilient, innovative and competitive.
We are working systematically towards that goal, both in Germany and at the European level. In the new world, our China policy is coming of age. It is by definition European. We view our relations with greater realism – and that, too, is something we obviously share.
Realism does not mean decoupling. Decoupling would be a big mistake. It would make us neither safe nor more prosperous. Instead, we are pursuing de-risking and diversification. This applies to China as it does to other great powers in the world.
Our approach rests on a simple formula: we must first recognize and then reduce unhealthy, one-sided dependencies, regardless of the partner involved. That pertains to supply chains, technologies and raw materials. We must reduce our vulnerabilities and make ourselves more resilient. We are not withdrawing from cooperation and dialogue. We are actually making cooperation and dialogue possible.
In doing so, we place our trust in the power of competition. We create the conditions at home that allow our companies to hold their own against international competitors. We insist that both sides engage in competition fairly and in accordance with agreed upon rules. Where competition is distorted due to systemic overcapacity or restrictions on exports and market access, remedies are needed.
We recognise that China has risen to the ranks of the great powers. Defining questions of global affairs cannot be addressed without Beijing, systemic differences notwithstanding. The same holds true to the major conflicts and crises of our time. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China bears a particular responsibility for upholding international law. China’s voice carries weight in Moscow. We encourage China to use her power to help bring about a just peace in Ukraine, rather than enabling Moscow’s war of aggression. China also bears a particular responsibility for order, peace, and security in the entire Indo-Pacific region.
We, too, intend to play our part in this regard. This includes the German Government’s continued adherence to its One-China policy with regard to Taiwan. The precise form that this policy takes is determined by us. We know as well as our partners in the region: Any escalation or violent change to the status quo in the Indo-Pacific would have grave consequences for global security and prosperity.
Now ladies and gentlemen, Germany and Singapore, Europe and the countries of the Indo-Pacific, have every interest in developing closer ties. We are witnessing the emergence of a new world order with all the opportunities and at the same time dangers this entails. Together with our partners in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific and beyond we will shape this new world. It cannot only serve the big and the strong. It must serve every country - big or small. We are as Germans firmly determined to forge ahead on this path together with you.
Thank you for your great attention.